The Hypothetical Trolley of Death

By James Tong Feb. 12, 2026

Welcome to the trolley problem of love, trust and happiness, minus the love, trust and happiness! A runaway trolley hurtles down a track towards five innocent people—tied with no escape. A lever can divert the trolley to another track, but another completely innocent person tied there will unfortunately be dismantled. With only seconds to decide, at least one death is imminent…should the lever be pulled? Better start digging a grave regardless. 

This thought experiment, known as the Trolley Problem, is one of the most recognizable ethical dilemmas in philosophy. Ethical dilemmas are situations where every option leads to an imperfect moral outcome, meaning to expose how people think morally and responsibly. In these dilemmas, which often present a life-or-death situation, many decisions are influenced by the goal of minimizing harm. Why would a sane person want to behead four extra people? 

"If everyone involved were strangers, I would not pull the lever. Actively intervening would mean choosing an action that determines a numerical value for life: that five lives are greater than one. It suggests that sacrificing a smaller group is acceptable whenever it benefits a larger one. What if the single person is prime-time Einstein? However, if the single person on the other track were a close friend, my decision would likely be to pull the lever, as personal relationships carry greater moral weight," Senior Max Nguyen said. 

The Trolley Problem was created in 1967 by British philosopher Philippa Foot to explore how people weigh consequences against moral duties. If the lever to divert the trolley is pulled, five lives will be saved at the cost of one. Yet, not pulling it means no direct involvement in any death. According to a 2020 PhilPapers Survey, roughly 63% of people would pull the lever in the default five-to-one scenario.  

Eleanor Wang Art

Decades later, philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson developed additional scenarios to understand why people judge outcomes differently based on how the harm occurs. For example, people would react differently if the situation was not simply pulling a lever and involved more physical contact, such as pushing a person onto the tracks. One famous variation, named the "Fat Man" problem, involves pushing a fat man onto the tracks to stop the trolley from killing more people. Another notable version is the "Judge" case, which introduces authority and justice. Pulling the lever is technically homicide, right? With these additions, many people are less likely to take the action that saves more lives. According to The Mind Collection, these variations exist because they introduce new moral factors that influence decisions, including physical proximity, intent and responsibility. These smaller changes in context can greatly change how people act, highlighting how moral judgment is often shaped by more than just outcomes.  

"These ethical dilemmas are interesting to think about, but they are not important or relevant in daily life. The majority of people are not going to experience any extreme situation like those proposed in the dilemmas," Junior Hyejune Yang said. 

Ultimately, the goal of this trolley dilemma is not to solve issues of morality, but to test how people personally react to ethical problems. It is not rocket science, but it is pretty complicated. 

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About the Contributors

James Tong

Opinions and Feature US Page Editor

James Tong is a junior at Leland High School and the Opinions and Feature US Page Editor for The Charger Account. He enjoys swimming, biking, drawing, hanging out with friends and following all the latest news in F1.

Eleanor Wang

Artist

Eleanor Wang is a Junior at Leland High School and is an artist for The Charger Account. When not working on school work or studying for a test, you can often find her playing video games, singing, or going out with friends.