Ah! But the story has many alternative endings.
Scenario One: I see that I’m not too far from first set of happy puppies. So I could easily run to save them and direct the train to the farthest track; thus, it would give me time to run to save the second set of happy puppies.
Scenario Two: I could have the control switch go half way and hopefully the train would jump its train BUT remain in an upright position. We are assuming there are no people and/or animals on this passenger train or that there no hazardous materials on board this freight train.
Scenario Three: I could just walk away and let karma decide which track the train is meant to travel. Either way, one set of puppies will go to heaven right away; while the other set of puppies will take longer to find peace ever after.
Scenario Four: I could turn into a super-hero and fly really fast or use my levitation powers to rescue both set of happy puppies and let the train pass by on schedule.
Scenario Five: I could imaging this topic never existed.
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Topic #97: An out of control train is about to run over a pile of happy puppies. You are standing at the control switch and can pull the level to direct the train onto a different track, saving their lives. But that other track has a smaller pile of equally happy puppies on it. What do you do and why? Note: no actual puppies, happy or sad, were harmed in the making of this topic. Topic inspired by Peter Singer.
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