the footbridge case

The "footbridge case" refers to a thought experiment in ethics, often used to discuss moral dilemmas. Imagine a runaway trolley headed towards five people tied to a track. You can pull a lever to divert it to another track, where it will kill one person instead. Alternatively, you could push a large person off a footbridge to stop the trolley, sacrificing one to save five. This scenario raises questions about utilitarianism (maximizing overall good) versus deontological ethics (following rules). It challenges our intuitions about active versus passive roles in causing harm and the moral implications of our choices.