RE: Hypothetical Moral Judgments vs. Real-Life Moral Actions
C’mon people! I was hoping to see more comments here! Here’s an answer that the ego can’t stand because it does not satisfy - I don’t do hypotheticals. In any given situation, you look for ways to do what’s right. The trolly problem prohibits any other options, but when you’re actually placed in front of something - like with the mice - new options present themselves.
How about pulling the wires out of the mouse boxes? How about grabbing the instructor around the throat and insisting the lab techs release the mice or you’ll snap his neck? After all, he’s a captor and a torturer, so it’s an act of defense to protect the innocent.
The point is that hypotheticals railroad you into an unnatural situation. Morality is a function of consciousness, and we have more growing to do before we can answer any question theown at us. We know enough about morality to get along, just like we know enough about physics to get by, but there’s more to discover and though these hypotheticals can challenge us to grow, failing to come up with a satisfying answer doesn’t obviate what we do know.
One die, five die, whatever... your whole life will likely go by without you ever encountering something so outlandish, so don’t worry about that; just get straight what you’re actually doing in your own life according to what you already understand.
Yes, I forgot to talk about the false dichotomy of these scenarios, oops :P There are often more than simply 1 or 2 options to choose from.
That’s ok, these scenarios are intended to pit the utilitarian perspective against the categorical, and they served their purpose well enough. Though I would suggest that they tend to railroad (no pun) the proponent of the latter into adopting the former perpective, which I think does the uninitiated student a disservice.
Utilitarianism, as you’ve no doubt concluded yourself, has deplorable practical consequences, and if applied at all, should be reserved for last resort scenarios like those presented in your post. But the “why” of this conclusion matters, and you’ve presented the problem well for readers to consider on their own.