Head's Essay Society: Moral Dilemmas and Thought-Provoking Debates

This half term, we came together to discuss what the most moral decision would be in a ghastly, hypothetical question. The situation is as follows: a train will collide with 5 people to take their lives, you are a bystander, you can either a) do nothing b) pull a lever that kills only the workman on the adjacent track or c) pull the lever causing the train to instead crash into yourself - a sort of self-sacrifice option. 

We all brought our essays to try to come to an agreement or, at the very least, an understanding of the varying decisions that our peers had made.

I had concluded, while appreciating that a real life situation of similar events would instead spur my being to run down the tracks and help the 5, to do nothing. In my opinion, everything happens for a reason and it is not for me to play God or intervene in the cosmic order (where would we draw the line?) Most evidently, I would not commit murder to save 5 that I did not endanger myself, but neither would I sacrifice myself - here I am negating whatever purpose I have for being there and taking the cowardly option to spare myself the guilt of such a decision. 

The debate was riveting, especially as we all decided upon disparate moral high grounds and all had contrasting reasons for doing so. Plus, the pizza and mince pies were just enough to keep us all civilised. 

(However, the most exciting part was when we sang Happy Birthday for Mr P-T!)

Dominiqe P, Year 12