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Chances are you've heard some version of this before, but it's worth revisiting. A runaway trolley is hurtling down the tracks toward five unsuspecting workers. You're standing on a footbridge above, and beside you is a large man. If you push him onto the tracks, his body will stop the trolley. He will die—but the five will live. Would you do it? What if pushing him saved a hundred people? This is no idle riddle. Our responses to this famous thought experiment (and many variants of it) reveal how we weigh consequences, rights, and intentions, and how our moral intuitions can clash with our moral reasoning. Moreover, these choices matter in the real world. From foreseeable risks to civilian lives in military action, to public‑health decisions about allocating scarce vaccines, to autonomous vehicles deciding who to save in a crash, trolley problems offer an accessible way to confront the hard edges of moral decision‑making in the modern age. Let's dive in.

Primary Reading: An Introduction to the Trolley Problem (document prepared for this discussion)

(Optional) Book: Would You Kill the Fat Man? The Trolley Problem and What Your Answer Tells Us About Right and Wrong (2014) by David Edmonds

For this meetup, we’ve prepared a 40-page guide that introduces the Trolley Problem, its philosophical significance, and what neuroscience has learned from using it to study moral decision-making. The guide includes sixteen scenarios, each probing different aspects of moral thinking: How do we weigh consequences against rights? Does intention matter more than outcomes? Do personal relationships override impartial calculation? When is it acceptable to use one person to save many? These scenarios reveal the complexity of our moral intuitions and will form the heart of our discussion.

Hopefully the prepared guide will leave you wanting more. If so, David Edmonds' Would You Kill the Fat Man? is a wonderful next step. Edmonds traces the fascinating history of the Trolley Problem, interviews philosophers who've wrestled with it, and explains the competing moral frameworks with clarity and wit. It's highly readable and brings real depth to these abstract dilemmas—but it's entirely optional. The guide has everything you need for our discussion.

As always, we strongly encourage you to do the reading before attending. This will enrich both your experience and our collective discussion. We’ve also put links below on further resources on the topic.

So join us for a drink (and optional meal) at 6:30pm on Monday, 1st June, on the 2nd floor of the Keg & Brew Hotel in Surrey Hills (i.e. up two flights of stairs). The venue is conveniently located near Central Station and the Light Rail.

We look forward to seeing you there!

P.S. Please adjust your RSVP if you have indicated that you will come but are no longer able to do so. This is courteous to other people if there is a waitlist.

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These are just optional links to consider. Feel free to pass on other useful links in the discussion section.

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Events in Surry Hills
Book Club
Intellectual Discussions
Philosophy
Psychology
Morality and Ethics

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