The lead up to this question mentions that in surveys given to the general population people would flip the switch. I'm assuming the general population here is an anglo culture in which moral decisions seem to be heavily influenced by utilitarianism. I wonder how the percentages line up in different cultures and what leads others to process this moral decision.
Also it's interesting from the results so far that when it comes to not flipping a switch but shoving a person the decision changes. While shoving a person certainly brings you more proximate to the human situation, ultimately it's a very similar situation with different poll results when the human side of the decision is more proximate. I'd argue that one main goal in making moral decisions is to bring this human element to the fore-front and try to see as clearly as possible the human consequences of your decision. Emmanuel Levinas, a French Jewish philosopher of the 20th century, argued that all ethics comes from the face-to-face encounter of the other; moreover, moral decisions should be made in light of the human face of the other. I think there is something to be said for his theory.
The lead up to this question mentions that in surveys given to the general population people would flip the switch. I'm assuming the general population here is an anglo culture in which moral decisions seem to be heavily influenced by utilitarianism. I wonder how the percentages line up in different cultures and what leads others to process this moral decision.
Also it's interesting from the results so far that when it comes to not flipping a switch but shoving a person the decision changes. While shoving a person certainly brings you more proximate to the human situation, ultimately it's a very similar situation with different poll results when the human side of the decision is more proximate. I'd argue that one main goal in making moral decisions is to bring this human element to the fore-front and try to see as clearly as possible the human consequences of your decision. Emmanuel Levinas, a French Jewish philosopher of the 20th century, argued that all ethics comes from the face-to-face encounter of the other; moreover, moral decisions should be made in light of the human face of the other. I think there is something to be said for his theory.