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Why can two trolley dilemmas feel so different?

Two imagined choices can save the same number of people yet feel morally different. Redirecting a runaway trolley and using a person to stop it raise questions about intentions, duties, and whether a good result can justify the means.

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • Should the outcome matter more than how it is achieved?
  • Does foreseeing harm differ morally from intending it?

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Ethics and philosophy

When does a conclusion follow, and when is it a prediction?

A rule can tell you what must follow if its premises are true. A pattern in observations can suggest what you may find next. Deduction and induction make these different kinds of move: a valid deduction still needs true premises, while further observations can overturn an inductive generalization.

3–5 min

When does a conclusion follow, and when is it a prediction?

Ethics and philosophy3–5 minA rule can tell you what must follow if its premises are true. A pattern in observations can suggest what you may find next. Deduction and induction make these different kinds of move: a valid deduction still needs true premises, while further observations can overturn an inductive generalization.

Ethics and philosophy

Is the red you see the same red that I see?

We can agree that a tomato is red and choose the same matching paint. Does that agreement show that red feels the same to each of us? The puzzle separates what we can compare publicly from what another person’s experience is like.

4–6 min

Is the red you see the same red that I see?

Ethics and philosophy4–6 minWe can agree that a tomato is red and choose the same matching paint. Does that agreement show that red feels the same to each of us? The puzzle separates what we can compare publicly from what another person’s experience is like.

Ethics and philosophy

When does a pile of parts become a chair?

A chair and a pile of chair parts may contain exactly the same wood. Something changes when the pieces are assembled, but is it the material, the arrangement, or our willingness to sit on it? Philosophers disagree about whether an object is identical to its material and what happens when that material changes.

3–7 min

When does a pile of parts become a chair?

Ethics and philosophy3–7 minA chair and a pile of chair parts may contain exactly the same wood. Something changes when the pieces are assembled, but is it the material, the arrangement, or our willingness to sit on it? Philosophers disagree about whether an object is identical to its material and what happens when that material changes.

Why can two trolley dilemmas feel so different? | Speech Topic | speaking.app