The Trolley Problem Described in Your Text Has Many Variations

question 33

Essay

The trolley problem described in your text has many variations. One of them goes as follows: "You are a surgeon and have five patients who each need a different organ transplant. No acceptable donor for any of them can be found, until one day a healthy traveler comes into your office and is the perfect donor for all five patients. Are there any circumstances under which it would be morally acceptable to kill this person to save the lives of five others?" Based on the study of Greene and colleagues, which areas of your brain did you likely use when thinking about this ethical dilemma?

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Definitions:

Structure

Describes the arrangement or organization of atoms within molecules.

Ketone Reduction

A chemical reaction wherein a ketone is reduced to an alcohol, frequently involving the use of a reducing agent.

NaBH4

Sodium borohydride, a reducing agent commonly used in organic chemistry to reduce ketones and aldehydes to alcohols.

Secondary Alcohol

An alcohol containing a hydroxyl group (-OH) attached to a carbon atom that is connected to two other carbon atoms.