Examples Of The Trolley Problem

Is it ever ok to take a person’s life? There are some cases in which it is alright to take a person’s life. An example of one of these situations is when you are protecting yourself or others from a violent person trying to cause harm. Another instance where it would be acceptable to take a life is when it saves multiple lives. Casualties are an unfortunate part of war, but they are also a necessity.

When a person is posing an immediate threat to one's life that person has the fundamental human right to protect themselves. Yes a human life is a very precious thing that should be protected and preserved. Unfortunately there are situations in which people need to take action and take a life for the protection of themselves and others. Therefore killing when it is for protection is completely justifiable. Killing to help protect someone who cannot protect

themselves from harmful people is also another situation in which it is acceptable.
There is a famous question called the trolley problem.

The trolley problem is a moral dilemma that has been analyzed by people such as philosophers, professors, and others over the years. The question continues to change and develop as time passes. The version of the question in this paper asks if there is a trolley speeding down the tracks about to hit and kill five people would you divert the train causing it to only hit one person? (D’Olimpio) This is such a hard question to answer because on the one hand it is better to loss one life than five, but on the other hand, if you were to pull the lever to switch the track you would be the one responsible for killing a person. Most people would choose to divert the train and save the majority of the people even though it would be taking someone's life. This is Brutus's thought process when he decides to kill Caesar. He even says “I know no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the general” (Anderson 799). He is saying that he has nothing against Caesar, he is just trying to save the roman people because he feels Caesar will become a dangerous

tyrant.
In war there is a lot of killing, unfortunately there is no way around this. Young men and women go into battle every day to defend their country and protect the citizens of it. One way to look at it is that everybody is born with the right to live, whether you believe this right comes from God, social contracts, human laws, or other reasons. When a person goes into war with the intent to kill they forfeit this right (kilner 3).
Killing is against most people's moral code and it is also against many religions. Killing is depriving someone of a basic human right, life. They are not only depriving someone of their life, but they are also depriving their family of a loved one. The loss of a loved one is an awful thing, but in some cases it is also a loss of a financial supporter sometimes that source of income is something the family cannot live without. Normally when a life is taken, the one who took it has to live with the regret of their decision which is a very heavy burden to bear.
In conclusion, there are a numerous amounts of situations in which people's lives are taken and in some of these scenarios it is justifiable. Killing is a last resort and is not a solution to quickly jump to. Even though it is a last resort it is not always avoidable. As soon as someone tries to harm others, they forfeit their basic human right of living. Such as when a person commits a violent crime with the intent to take another person's life or even when a soldier goes into war knowing that he will have to kill.