If pressing one switch would save five people but directly kill one person, would you press it?

Would you press a switch to save five if it directly killed one?

What is this question really asking?

  1. Do you look at the total number of deaths first, or at whether you are actively causing the harm yourself?
  2. Many people separate doing nothing from directly harming someone, so this is not just a simple 5-versus-1 trade.
  3. The scenario switches below show how a small change in the setup can change your intuition.
Loading results... Calculating the vote split...
A
0%
B
0%

Full explanation