Tracks of Morality by Prof. Julian S. Thorne

A runaway trolley is barreling down a track. Ahead, five people are tied to the rails. You stand next to a lever. If you pull it, the trolley switches to a side track where only one person is tied. Do you pull the lever? This simple thought experiment, known as the Trolley Problem, has obsessed philosophers for decades. But with the rise of self-driving cars and AI, it has moved from the classroom to the boardroom.

"Tracks of Morality" dissects the history and implications of this dilemma. It moves beyond the binary choice to explore what our answers reveal about us. Are we Utilitarians, counting lives like currency? Or Deontologists, refusing to actively kill even to save many? The book explores variations of the problem—the "Fat Man," the "Loop"—and applies them to modern crises, from triage in pandemics to algorithmic programming. A primer on ethics that feels like a thriller.