The Death Of An Oncoming Train Essay - 1145 Words

Stepping outside, you breathe in the brisk morning air and decide to take a walk. Your path takes you around the city and you soon find yourself in a trainyard and you make your way past the rails and unhooked train cars. You pause to catch your breath and in the silence, you hear a scream. Down on the tracks below, you see multiple figures struggling, fighting against the bonds to get themselves free. You take a step forward, intent on freeing the people only to pause again as you hear the horn of an oncoming train. By the time you reach them, the train will have come and gone, leaving them a gory mess. Instead, you spot a lever to control the tracks and you rush forward to pull it. Your hand closes around it and you begin to pull it only to hear even more yelling. Another voice on the opposite side of the tracks catches your attention, screaming for you to do something, for you to save them. You begin to sweat and your hands begin to shake as the graveness of the situation suddenly dawns on you. If you don’t pull the lever, you let five people die as a result. If you do, one person still dies but you will have been the direct cause of his death. The sound of the train’s horn blares loudly as sweat drips down your face. What do you do? What is the right thing to do here? Is it right to let one person die to save five others? Who are you to decide who lives or dies? That simple but stressful analogy is referred to as the â€Å"trolley problem† (Munroe). It is aShow MoreRelatedSelf Driving Cars : Is It All Over The World?886 Words   |  4 Pagesothers can live is justified† (Newcomb, 1). The question is often presented in a riddle like fashion explaining that there is a train heading down a track towards a group of people. If the train continues in this path, the people on the track will be killed. The person in question has the chance to save all these people’s lives, but must hit a level redirecting the train onto a different path, but killing one person. Though we are not dealing with a locomotive, this is a very real situation that theseRead MoreThe Fear Of Death Is Meaningless984 Words   |  4 PagesThe fear of death is meaningless in this concept. But what are we fearing in death? Is it the unimaginable or our life afterwards? Socrates does not seem to explain this; he simply summarizes that if you lead a life, such as seeking true wisdom, the idea of fear does not exist. What completely is death? He explains it as the separation of the soul and body, but is there actually more to that? For instance, what occurs to your body once you are liberated? How can the soul be called pure if it taintedRead MoreImportance of Myrtle in The Great Gatsby Essay1205 Words   |  5 PagesOf these occurrences, one of the most influential and important incidents was the death of Myrtle Wilson.   While her life and death greatly affected the lives of all of the main and supporting characters, her death had a very significant effect on the lives of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tom knew Myrtle better than any of the main characters.   He had met her on a train headed for New York.   When the train reached the city, she went with him in a taxi, and their affair began.   Tom neverRead MoreThe Book Thief Movie962 Words   |  4 PagesThe film opens with a train traveling through the European countryside. It is 1938. Liesel Meminger sits on the train with her mother and younger brother, only to look over and find that her brother dies in her mothers arms. As they bury her brother, the gravedigger drops a book and Liesel picks it up and takes it with her. It is the only left that she has to remember her brother. She is then taken to her new foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Upon her arrival, she meets Rudy Steiner who willRead MoreJames Joyce s A Painful Case1159 Words   |  5 Pagessuggesting that she began drinking. Mrs. Sinico was killed two years later by an oncoming train, as she was on the tracks at the time. Her death could, arguably, be caused by Mr. Duffy s harsh break of their affair. Mr. Duffy was able to recognize his part in her death, as she was a catalyst for emotion in his life and he was a catalyst that made her devoid of emotion in her own life. Mrs. Sinico s cause of death was remarked as likely being, due to shock and sudden failure of the heart s actionsRead MoreSnows of Kilimanjaro Essay1175 Words   |  5 Pagesattributes nearly all symbols in the novel to death itself, with close relation to the hyena, the vultures, and the other horrible creatures. â€Å"He is prepared to use, where they conform to the requirements of an imaginary situation, any of the more ancient symbols—whether the threes and nines of numerology, or the weight of the Cross in Christian legend. But the scythe and the skull, though ancient enough, simply do not fit the pattern of Harrys death and are therefore rejected in favor of the foulRead MoreMoral Wisdom Seems to Be as Little Connected to Knowledge of Ethical Theory as Playing Good Tennis Is to Knowledge of Physics (Emrys Westacott). to What Extent Should Our Actions Be Guided by Our Theories in Ethics and Elsewhere?1737 Words   |  7 Pagesmight not only apply moral rules inconsistently, but also hold inconsistent principles. To illustrate the plausibility of the ethnic thesis, let us take a look at one such thought experiment-trolley problem: A trolley (i.e. in British English a train) is running out of control down a track. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, you could flip a switch, which will lead the trolley down a different track to safety. Unfortunately, thereRead MoreEconomic, Social, and Political Problems in the Post-Civil War era1185 Words   |  5 Pagesmany trains from moving. Trains were the main means of shipping almost any goods, which meant that anything needed to be shipped either arrived late and in smaller quantities, or was never received at all. The government soon became frustrated and sent in militia units to restore order, but the men refused to use force against the workers. Then the governors sent out regiments of the National Guard, who were attacked by citizens as they marched down the roads. These riots caused several deaths andRead MoreEssay on Use of Technology in Fire Safety Education1446 Words   |  6 PagesUse of Technology in Fire Safety Education Every year 5,000 lives are taken due to fire in the homes. Many of these deaths may have been prevented. Fire not only claims lives, it’s destroys property and injuries many. Thankfully, there is something we can do. Over the years, the growth in technology used in to educate about fire safety has increased greatly. We now have many different ways to reach people of all ages. Some of this information includes: increased importanceRead MoreRespect of the Gods in the Odyssey1219 Words   |  5 Pagespulled away his clothes and looked at his neck, they had said him a solemn farewell in expectation of his death. We ll meet again in a better world, they said. He was classed among the dying and put aside on a cot to do so. But he failed at it. After two days, space being short, they sent him on to a regular hospital in his own state. All through the mess of the field hospital and the long grim train ride south in a boxcar filled with wounded, he had agreed with his friends and the doctors. He thought