A child playing with his toy train set doesn’t seem like the gateway to a complex philosophical problem. But a Youtube video, released in August 2016, shows a two-year-old contemplating his solution to the decades-old thought experiment of the trolley problem. The video has steadily gone viral, with viewers contemplating ‘what would I do?’ in the light of societies various inconsistent moral institutions.
The Trolley Problem
Considered today a classic philosophical dilemma, the trolley problem was first introduced by Philippa Foot in 1967. The problem, which can be universally answered by any individual, highlights how we categorize right from wrong. The imagined scenario also pits two or more ethical principles against another, which requires prioritization of one over the other to resolve the dilemma.
Though various versions of the trolley problem exists, one of the simplest forms discusses a runaway trolley that is heading down the track towards five people. If the trolley proceeds the course, the five people will be killed. You, as an onlooker, have the opportunity to stop the train by the flip of a switch. Flipping the switch will divert the train onto another track, away from the five original people, but still places one person (a stray worker) in harm’s way. The trolley problem is now illuminated in terms of how we weight human life, and conceptualize our role in the death of others. Do you save the five people at the expense of another human life? Or do you let nature run it’s natural course? (1)
A Child’s Solution
J. Masicampo, a PhD and associate professor of psychology at Wake Forest University, shared to his Youtube channel a video of his then 2 year-old son considering the trolley problem. (2) Masicampo had the idea to share the problem with his son after first discussing his university moral psychology class. Coincidentally, he had come home from the class, and saw his son, Nicholas, was playing with toy trains. Thinking it to would be interesting to see his response, he posed the ethical dilemma to his Nicholas while they played together.
In the video, Nicholas is told by his father that his train will crash into five toy men, who are laying on the tracks. Masicampo then tells his son that the train can be moved to another track with a sole toy man. Without hesitation, the child moves the sole toy man to join the other five on the same track. Finally, he takes his train and drives it into the group of men; declaring “uh-oh!” when they crash off the tracks. Nicholas’ reaction is comical, no doubt, to many viewers. Especially as it appears initially, that he is saving all the men by moving them to the same track, but then shocks viewers by ‘killing’ them all. (3)
What Is The Answer?
Looking at the comments to Masicampo’s video, this viral video sensation creates as many questions for viewers as answers. For example, “who else is expecting some genius move?”, “I tricked myself into thinking that the ‘trolley problem’ was an actual scientific dilemma”, and “Why are they chilling on the train tracks in the first place?”. (2) But the video may, in fact, say more about how we learn morals and ethics, than the specific trolley problem. In fact, experts in philosophy reinforce what this video reveals: we are not born with a strong ethical sense, but develop over time. Teachings from our parents, religion, and discussing ethical dilemmas, like the trolley problem, with others allow us to explore and inform our moral choices. Ethical development can start in childhood and continue into adulthood, based on our life experiences. So with time and a father well-trained in psychology, Nicholas is most likely to alter his solution to the trolley problem! (4)
