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Would You Kill the Fat Man?《你該殺死那個胖子嗎？》The Trolley Problem and What Your Answer Tells Us About Right and Wrong 道德哲學 電車難題
★ 《維根斯坦的撥火棒》暢銷書合著者帶來的道德哲學探索之旅
一列失控的火車正高速駛向鐵軌上被綁住的五個人。如果火車不被阻止，這五人將無可避免地喪生。你站在一座天橋上，俯瞰這場即將發生的災難。這時，你的身邊站著一位陌生的胖子。如果你把他推下橋，他的身體將墜落到鐵軌上，雖然他會因此喪命，但他的體重足以阻止火車，從而拯救那五個人。
你會推那個胖子下去嗎？
這個問題看似怪誕，但它是道德哲學中一個長達近半個世紀的難題——「電車難題」的變體之一。近年來，這個問題已不僅僅是哲學家的困惑，也成為神經科學家、心理學家和其他思想家們的研究焦點。
在這本書中，作者大衛·愛德蒙茲講述了哲學家們如何辯論倫理難題的精彩故事，帶領讀者展開一場趣味橫生的道德哲學史之旅。
大多數人直覺上認為，殺掉胖子是不對的。但為什麼？畢竟犧牲一條生命，卻能拯救五條生命。愛德蒙茲揭示，回答這個問題比看起來複雜得多——而且至關重要。實際上，我們如何回答這個問題，能夠深刻反映出我們對「對與錯」的看法和道德判斷。
From the bestselling coauthor of Wittgenstein's Poker, a fascinating tour through the history of moral philosophy
A runaway train is racing toward five men who are tied to the track. Unless the train is stopped, it will inevitably kill all five men. You are standing on a footbridge looking down on the unfolding disaster. However, a fat man, a stranger, is standing next to you: if you push him off the bridge, he will topple onto the line and, although he will die, his chunky body will stop the train, saving five lives. Would you kill the fat man?
The question may seem bizarre. But it's one variation of a puzzle that has baffled moral philosophers for almost half a century and that more recently has come to preoccupy neuroscientists, psychologists, and other thinkers as well. In this book, David Edmonds, coauthor of the bestselling Wittgenstein's Poker, tells the riveting story of why and how philosophers have struggled with this ethical dilemma, sometimes called the trolley problem. In the process, he provides an entertaining and informative tour through the history of moral philosophy. Most people feel it's wrong to kill the fat man. But why? After all, in taking one life you could save five. As Edmonds shows, answering the question is far more complex―and important―than it first appears. In fact, how we answer it tells us a great deal about right and wrong.
