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Philippa Foot: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Philippa Foot, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• Would you kill one person to save five? Most say yes — until they have to push

  Philippa Foot's thought experiment asks whether it's right to divert a runaway trolley onto a track where it kills one person instead of five. Most people say yes. But flip it slig…

  — Philippa Foot, The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect

• Most people will pull a lever to save five lives — but not push someone to do it

  In 1967, Philippa Foot asked whether it's permissible to divert a runaway trolley onto a track where it will kill one person instead of five. Almost everyone says yes. But change t…

  — Philippa Foot, The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect

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