Definition
A famous thought experiment in ethics where a runaway trolley will kill five people unless you divert it to kill one person instead. It explores the distinction between killing and letting die, and between intended and merely foreseen consequences.
Etymology
Created by philosopher Philippa Foot in 1967 and developed by Judith Jarvis Thomson. The problem became central to moral philosophy and psychology, spawning numerous variations that test moral intuitions about permissible harm.
Kelly Says
This deceptively simple scenario has launched thousands of philosophical papers and reveals deep inconsistencies in our moral thinking — most people say it's okay to flip a switch to divert the trolley but not okay to push a large person off a bridge to stop it, even though both save five lives by sacrificing one!
Translations
AMአማርኛ
ትሮሊ ችግር
te-ro-li chi-ger
ARالعربية
مشكلة العربة
mash-ke-la al-ar-bah
BNবাংলা
ট্রলি সমস্যা
tro-li sa-ms-ya
CACatalà
Problema del trolley
pro-ble-ma del trol-lee
CSČeština
Problém s tramvajem
Pro-blem s tram-va-jem
DADansk
Trolleyproblemet
Trol-lee-pro-ble-met
DEDeutsch
Trolley-Problem
Trol-lee-Pro-blem
ELΕλληνικά
Πρόβλημα του τρόλεϊ
pro-ble-ma tou tro-lei
ESEspañol
problema del tranvía
pro-ble-ma del tran-vee-a
FAفارسی
مسئله ترامواى
mas-a-le tram-va-ee
FISuomi
Trolley-ongelma
Trol-lee-on-gel-ma
FRFrançais
dilemme du tramway
dee-le-ma du tram-way
GUGU
ટ્રોલી સમસ્યા
tro-lee sa-mas-ya
HAHA
Matsalar trolley
mat-sa-lar trol-lee
HEעברית
בעיית הרכבת הקלה
ba-ee-yat ha-re-k-vat ha-ke-la
HIहिन्दी
ट्रॉली समस्या
tro-lee pro-ble-ma
HUMagyar
Trolley-probléma
Trol-lee-pro-ble-ma
IDBahasa Indonesia
masalah kereta
ma-sa-lah ke-re-ta
IGIG
Trolley problem
Trol-lee pro-ble-m
ITItaliano
problema del tram
pro-ble-ma del tram
JA日本語
トロッコ問題
toro-kko-mon-dai
KKKK
Тrolley мәселесі
Trol-lee ma-se-le-si
KMKM
បរិស្ថាន ត្រីសី
pa-ris-than tra-see
KO한국어
트롤리 문제
teul-li mun-je
MRMR
ट्रॉली समस्या
tro-lee pro-ble-ma
MSBahasa Melayu
Masalah troli
ma-sa-lah tro-li
MYမြန်မာ
တရိုလီ ပြဿနာ
ta-ro-lee pyat-tha-na
NLNederlands
tram probleem
tram pro-ble-em
NONorsk
Trolleyproblemet
Trol-lee-pro-ble-met
PAPA
ਟ੍ਰੋਲੀ ਸਮस्या
tro-lee sa-mas-ya
PLPolski
problem tramwajowy
pro-blem tram-wa-y-o-wy
PTPortuguês
problema do carrinho
pro-ble-ma do kar-ri-nho
RORomână
Dilema tramvaiului
dee-le-ma tram-va-i-u-lui
RUРусский
Проблема с трамваем
Pro-ble-ma s tram-va-em
SVSvenska
trolleyproblemet
trol-lee-pro-ble-met
SWKiswahili
Trolley shida
trol-lee shi-da
TAதமிழ்
ட்ராலி சிக்கல்
tra-lee shik-kal
TEతెలుగు
ట్రాలీ సమస్య
tro-lee sa-mas-ya
THไทย
ปัญหาขบวนรถไฟ
pa-na-ra khwan rot fai
TLTL
Problema ng trolley
pro-ble-ma ng trol-lee
TRTürkçe
Trolley problemi
Trol-lee pro-ble-mi
UKУкраїнська
Проблема з трамваєм
Pro-ble-ma z tram-va-em
URاردو
ٹریلی کا مسئلہ
tri-li ka mas-la
VITiếng Việt
Vấn đề xe điện
van-de xe dien
YOYO
Trolley problem
Trol-lee pro-ble-m
ZUZU
I-trolley problem
i-trol-lee pro-ble-m