In a law class, the binding question would be “who is my client”? I believe I can make an argument for culpability or justification of any action, including flipping a coin or somehow derailing the trolley, saving all 6 but killing 20 passengers.
I don’t anticipate facing the question in reality, and don’t have a pre-committment to what I’d do. Analogous decisions (where I can prioritize outcome over common rules) are not actually similar enough to generalize. In many of those, the constraint is how much my knowledge and impact prediction differs from he circumstances that evolved the rules. In cases where I’m average, I follow rules. In cases where I have special knowledge or capability, I optimize for outcome.
This is unsatisfying to many, and those who pose this question often push for a simpler answer, and get angry at me for denying their hypothetical. But that’s because it’s simply false that I have a rule for whether to follow rules or decide based on additional factors.
In a law class, the binding question would be “who is my client”? I believe I can make an argument for culpability or justification of any action, including flipping a coin or somehow derailing the trolley, saving all 6 but killing 20 passengers.
I don’t anticipate facing the question in reality, and don’t have a pre-committment to what I’d do. Analogous decisions (where I can prioritize outcome over common rules) are not actually similar enough to generalize. In many of those, the constraint is how much my knowledge and impact prediction differs from he circumstances that evolved the rules. In cases where I’m average, I follow rules. In cases where I have special knowledge or capability, I optimize for outcome.
This is unsatisfying to many, and those who pose this question often push for a simpler answer, and get angry at me for denying their hypothetical. But that’s because it’s simply false that I have a rule for whether to follow rules or decide based on additional factors.