🤔 What's the right thing to do?
Sometimes the right choice is easy. But sometimes EVERY choice has a problem. That's called a dilemma (say it: dih-LEM-uh).
Philosophers are people who think really carefully about big questions. One of the most famous big questions of all is the Trolley Problem. Grown-ups at universities still argue about it today!
🔒 Earn all 4 badges to unlock the Dilemma Maker: build your own trolley problem and run a class vote!
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🦉 Philosopher's rules
The Runaway Trolley
You have one choice to make. Choose carefully!
It's the day of the science fair! A trolley full of gooey green slime has lost its brakes and is rolling down the track. Ahead, 5 classmates' science projects are sitting on the track. If the trolley reaches them, it will SPLAT slime all over them.
You're standing next to a lever. If you pull it, the trolley will switch to the other track... where 1 classmate's project is sitting.
📜 Where did this puzzle come from?
A British philosopher named Philippa Foot invented the Trolley Problem in 1967. Later, an American philosopher named Judith Jarvis Thomson gave it its famous name and invented new twists. In the grown-up version, the stakes are much more serious than slime, but the thinking is the same!
📊 When scientists ask grown-ups, most say they WOULD pull the lever. But when the puzzle changes just a little bit, many people change their answer. Try the twists to see why!
🙋 Class vote (for the teacher's screen)
Tap a side each time someone votes.
Tricky Twists
Change one thing. Does your answer change?
📋 My choices
Three Ways to Think
Famous philosophers had different tools for deciding what's right.
The Results Thinker
Like John Stuart Mill (an English thinker, 1800s)
"Look at what HAPPENS. The best choice is the one that brings the most good and the least harm to the most people."
The Rules Thinker
Like Immanuel Kant (a German thinker, 1700s)
"Some things are just wrong, even if they turn out well. And never treat a person like they're only a tool."
The Character Thinker
Like Aristotle (Ancient Greece, 2,300+ years ago)
"Ask: what would a good, kind, brave, fair person do? We become good by practicing good habits."
None of these thinkers is "the right one." Most people use all three tools, depending on the problem!
🗂️ Who would say it?
Sort each quote to the thinker who would most likely say it.
✅ Thinker check
Everyday Dilemmas
No trolleys. Just real choices kids face.
For each dilemma, pick what YOU would do. Then see which kind of thinker you sound like. Talk it over with a partner!
🪞 Which thinker are you most like?
Locked!
Earn all 4 badges to unlock the Dilemma Maker.
Dilemma Maker
Build your OWN trolley problem. Then test it on your class!
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