Philosophy · Ethics & Moral Philosophy
A topic within Ethics & Moral Philosophy, itself one of 12 topics in that field and part of Philosophy.
2 works
Philippa Foot
Introduces the trolley scenario to test whether foreseeing a death and intending one are morally different, and argues the doctrine of double effect cannot be the whole explanation for why we judge the cases differently.
link checked 17 Sept 2026Judith Jarvis Thomson
Multiplies variations on Foot's original scenario, turning a bystander into a fat man pushed off a bridge, to isolate exactly which feature of an act makes killing one to save five permissible in some versions and not others.
link checked 17 Sept 2026