The question at the heart of Thomas Cathcart's The Trolley Problem is straightforward, though the answer may not be. You're standing near a train junction where five men are working. You see a trolley car headed toward the workers, certainly ending their lives. On a second track is one man, and you happen to be standing near a switch that can divert the trolley. Should you do nothing and let fate take its course, or do you throw the switch, saving the five workers but taking responsibility for that man's death?
If that answer comes easily, try this slightly different scenario: instead of a switch, you're on the footbridge with an overweight man, and the only thing that can slow the trolley and save those five men is a large, heavy object on the track. Do you push the man? Do you feel more justified pulling the switch than you would pushing the man?
These thought problems make for great dinner conversation, but in less capable hands could result in a dry, didactic book. Thankfully, Cathcart puts the problem into narrative form, teasing out possible answers through a story that reads like an episode of Law and Order written by philosophy professors. It's a brisk, engrossing book, and while the "answers" may only create more questions, you'll see train junctions in a whole new light after reading it. --Matthew Tiffany, counselor, writer for Condalmo