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A Utilitarian Response

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I am first presented with a scenario involving a runaway trolley that is out of control and if left alone it will kill five people. However, if I were to be standing next to the lever the trolley would switch path and only kill one person. In a different scenario I am on a bridge next to a better large person and I am watching the trolley head towards the five individuals, and if I stand around and do nothing they will be killed. However, I have the option of choosing to stand around and watch the five individuals get killed or push the very large man over and manage to stop the trolley and save the five individuals but kill the very large individual. After reading the scenarios and evaluating my options, I found myself conflicted in deciding which would be the best choice. A utilitarian response seems to be drastic because there are no limits set to what an individual is not allowed to do in the pursuit of their happiness. While my choices were based on allowing the trolley to take its original course and not get involved in the situation myself.
In the first scenario, it would seem easier for me to pull the lever and save the five individuals and kill the one on the opposite tracks. I would …show more content…

Which is unlike a utilitarian point of view, in which the choice will always be the one that produces greater happiness and in each scenario the greater happiness would always be the happiness of the five individuals. This type of viewpoint is something that I disagree with because it does not take into account other important factors. For example, what if the five individuals in both scenarios were criminals and the single individual was a good man. It does not seem fair to let the good man die because he alone does not seem to have the greatest happiness or at least not compared to the five

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