1985). Is it justified to throw a switch so that a trolley kills one person instead
of many? Is it justified to push someone from a bridge in front of the trolley
to save people?^1 Scholars who approach the problem of morality with the
help of primatological studies (de Waal, 2006; Hauser, 2006) usually discuss
what apes and people do and also inquire about the possible motivations of
their actions. The question of“intention”occupies an important place in
classical discussions of morality (particularly in deontological approaches).
In this chapter, I will deal with motivation in a broad sense (including both
conscious and subconscious elements), without entering the discussion
about intentions.
Figure 8.1.The trolley problem. Is it justified to throw the switch?(^1) More recently (Navarrete et al., 2012), the improved technological possibilities of virtual
reality allowed for studying the trolley problem in the framework of moral action.
Morality 167