Quote Originally Posted by Vivi22 View Post

Switch it is still the only moral answer.

As for the question of whether doing nothing is or isn't moral as discussed by Shauna and MILF, it depends. If you do nothing because you have no knowledge of the situation at hand then sure, you're not responsible. But since the situation presupposes that you are aware, doing nothing is still a choice being consciously made. Doing nothing is choosing to let five people die rather than minimizing the casualties and killing one. You may not have set events in motion, but you chose not to save four people when you had the power to do so.

Not a good choice.
I do not think it is so simple. You are still condemning a life. Just because you saved five lives doesn't take away that one was sacrificed. I see the logic of it, do not get me wrong, but I cannot agree with it. I think that both options are horrible. I refuse to accept that there is only one "moral" answer because I refuse to accept a utilitarian notion of justice or ethics. At best, I can see that one choice is less problematic/more pragmatic than another, but I would not say that either choice is morally "right". Moreover, the question itself reduces a human life to simple mathematics to the point it is a stand-in for an abstract notion of life. Saying to save five at the sacrifice of one life is the only moral choice feels more like an absolution to the fact that someone was killed. It seems to take away from the gravity of the fact that someone had to die and the responsibility towards that life.

All in all, I always found this problem deeply troubling and have conflicting views on it.