Final answer:
When faced with ethical dilemmas such as choosing to kill an innocent person or several criminals, we encounter profound moral challenges that reflect tensions between utilitarian and deontological principles. Various scenarios, including the trolley problem and the prisoner's dilemma, help clarify these concepts, demonstrating the complexities of moral reasoning and the effects of individual versus collective interests.
Step-by-step explanation:
Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Choices
When faced with a dilemma of choosing between killing one innocent person or five people who committed minor crimes, we are dealing with a significant ethical challenge. This type of question is designed to assess our understanding of morality and justice. You've been presented with a choice and also an option to abstain or seek alternatives, which reflects on classic moral problems such as the trolley dilemma or the prisoner's dilemma. These problems highlight the tensions between utilitarian and deontological ethical frameworks.
In the context of the scenarios you provided, here's how one can approach each:
Flipping the switch is typically considered morally permissible because it results in fewer lives lost, aligning with a utilitarian viewpoint.
Picking up the child is morally obligatory, as the act of saving a life far outweighs the inconvenience of ruined pants.
Taking the healthy person’s organs is morally forbidden, as it violates the individual rights of an innocent person to save others, which is more in line with deontological ethics.
The principle that it is better for 100 guilty people to go free than for an innocent person to be unjustly punished finds its roots in the value of individual rights and is also tied to the innocence presumption in law. This principle often conflicts with utilitarian arguments which prioritize outcomes over specific individual rights.
Game theory and the prisoner's dilemma illustrate how individuals following their rational self-interest can lead to suboptimal outcomes for the group, highlighting the complexity of such ethical conundrums.