“New Commandments”

“New Commandments” Wednesday 17th October

“I can’t believe that the only thing wrong with wanton cruelty is that I don’t like it.” Bertrand Russell

There is a runaway trolley car and is hurtling down a track. In its path are 5 people who will definitely be killed unless you, a bystander, flip a switch which will divert it onto another track, where it will kill one person. Should you flip the switch?

The runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track where it will kill five people. You are standing on a bridge above the track and, aware of the imminent disaster, you decide to jump on the track to block the trolley car. Although you will die, the five people will be saved. Just before you leap, you realise that you are too light to stop the trolley. Next to you is a tall and heavily set man standing on the very edge of the bridge. He would certainly block the trolley, although he would undoubtedly die from the impact. A small nudge and he would fall right onto the tracks below. No one would ever know! Should you push him?

The results According to bbc.co.uk 1. Should you flip the switch? 76.85% of people surveyed said yes (3814 votes cast) 2. Should you push the heavierman? 26.88% said yes. (20320 votes cast)

Deontological or Consequentialism

Deontological Where rules of behaviour are claimed to be right or wrong, regardless of their consequences

Consequentialism Here the consequences of the action dictate whether it is right or wrong

You are invigilating an exam. You spot a student cheating. You know for sure she was cheating, errors of perception does not come into this. No one else has seen the action. • You know the student is capable of passing as you have taught them and seen their work. • You know the student comes from a poor family and needs the scholarship provided by a good pass to go to university. • You know the student last a close family member last week and is not behaving normally. • Do you ignore it or do you stop the student and send them out????

In groups you are a committee who has taken the place of God. • You need to make a set of ethical rules which people should live by. • If they obey these rules they are thought of as being good. These rules or commandments are in effect the recipe for a perfect society. • What rules can you agree on? • You need rules about the following: • How do people deal with each other? • What are the rules in relationships, marriage and sex? • How do people deal with economics / inequality / fairness / money/ property? • How do people behave towards the environment? • To what extent how should the state monitor and control this ‘moral code’? • Articulate the rules as generally or as specifically as you feel you need to. • Get a consensus, and write the rules down

“New Commandments”