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Discussion thread: Trolleyology (MORAL DILEMMAS) is published (Patreon)

Published:
2025-08-20 20:47:41
Imported:
2026-06

Content

This episode is published and ready to hear wherever you get podcasts. Let’s chat about Trolleyology in the comments!*

Have you heard of the Trolley Problem? YOU’RE ABOUT TO. This is age-old thought experiment involves a hypothetical streetcar barreling toward people on two tracks. Who do you save? Who do you kill? Is there even an answer to this? And what if you’re not even a train conductor? 

It’s a philosophical debate about morality, utilitarianism, effective altruism, bodily autonomy and much more. 

Dr. Joshua Greene is a Harvard Psychology professor, neuroscientist, and actual Trolleyologist. Tune in for: What makes you a good person? How do you reason with people who make you scream into a jar like Yosemite Sam? How far would you go to save others? Also: charities, how neurodivergence influences moral decisions, religion used as a moral compass, and your new favorite skeleton. 

This is a fun one that will challenge your brain and/or heal your heart.

Let’s chat tracks,

Your Father of Pod, Alie Ward 

https://www.alieward.com/ologies/trolleyology

Files

Trolleyology (MORAL DILEMMAS + THE TROLLEY PROBLEM) with Dr. Joshua Greene - alie ward

Train tracks. Split decisions. And a philosophy humdinger worth debating. Dr. Joshua Greene is a Harvard Psychology professor, neuroscientist, and *actual* Trolleyologist. This thought experiment pops up in everything from policy discussions to board games and looks at: What makes you a good perso

Comments

Lizzy Martinez

I completed the free Harvard Justice Course and it starts with this dilemma and learning about the philosophers. What do you all think about Jeremy Bentham's body being preserved and on display at UCL per his wishes?

Mark Wilkes

Unexpectedly this was a really enjoyable episode! Threw a few bucks in the GivingMultiplier hat (which incidentally needs a waaaay catchier name). Thanks Alie - sometimes your episodes are really life-affirming 💕

aguycalledshane

I've always thought "matching donations" was just a gimmick, anyone doing it could just give that money, but in the context of it being a factor in getting people to give or give more, it's genius.

Sydney Booker

As a philosophy major in undergrad, this episode was right up my alley!! I would LOVE to see more philosophy episodes

Keerat Singh

I think it’s pretty cool of them to keep it up, although if everyone did that there would be too many dead people at universities ! I wonder how the students feel about it

Keerat Singh

I liked this episode! I worried that the philosophical topic might be hard to follow but the expert was easy to follow :)

Matt Schmidt

Very thought provoking. Quite enjoyable.

Katie O

This episode was surprisingly horny… and I am NOT mad about it

Elinor Wahl

For anyone curious about the sutra about killing the Lhasa monks cited, it's called the Upayakausalya Sutta, or 'Skillful Means' Sutta. A huge caveat to the teaching is that the bodhisattva who kills the potential murderer does so knowing the deceased man will go on to a favorable rebirth, but the bodhisattva himself will spend many thousands of years being tortured in a hell realm for the deed - so if one wishes to take a life, even for a moral reason, they must also be prepared to suffer enormously for it. As a Buddhist myself, I find it very compelling that both potent compassion and the lack of empathy (psychopathy) lead to taking the utilitarian position of morality, because both require detachment from knee-jerk emotional responses

Allison Menard

I absolutely see where he is coming from about uniting with people with differing political views, but it is so difficult in practice. I completely agree with aligning yourself with people of different opinions & backgrounds, but it's hard to see the benefits in aligning yourself with people that constantly dehumanize people that are different than themselves and don't see taking human rights and genocide as problematic. But he is the expert, I'm not. So I put my skepticism to the test and signed up for Letstango.org.

Mikki B

Loved this episode. I wonder if the trolley story was tweaked so that the “5” are people you despise and the “1” is your best friend if more people wouldn’t pull the switch.

Nick A

It feels like there have been more ads lately in episodes. Is there a way to get an ad-free version here on Patreon?

Clur 🌱

"...that is to say, he went a little... Off the rails." I see you with your railroad puns, Alie 😂

Alie Ward

I do it for you, I do it all for you

Alie Ward

thanks for being willing to do it! My hope is that more let's say ... culturally sheltered people will interface with a diverse array of people and realize that they have been wrong.

Alie Ward

Thank you so much for the additional background on this!

Alie Ward

Right? He's so passionate about it

Alie Ward

Right?? I think it's a great incentive

Alie Ward

Thank you so much! Ologites have made a huge difference so far!

Alie Ward

I mean, it's stirring up more conversation than buried at a churchyard so I guess that's good?

Ranger France

Add this to the list of episodes "I know it's kinda dark but the speaker just gets me SO HYPED about it"

Sydney Booker

Some that come to mind are Epistemology, Axiology, and Phenomenology. Those are pretty big ologies to cover but I bet there are philosophy professors/writers whose work aligns with those ologies!

Rineil Mandre

I always want more details. We subconsciously scrape data all the time that effects our decisions.

Alie Ward

It's so hard to make these episodes just 80 or 90 minutes

Alie Ward

aww, that makes me so happy to hear

Olga Kolesnikova

Knocking someone under a train to save more lives may be the utilitarian choice, but when push comes to shove, I don't think I could do it...

Chris Moore

What an excellent episode! I’m glad the question was answered about political alignment as well as The Good Place. The trolley problem was one of my favs in undergrad and when The Good Place did the episode on it, I was thrilled. My only remaining question was about the effects of the study of philosophy on culture. I think the best example that was given was from the living legend who pioneered thinking on animal rights. I feel like that’s huge, but that philosophers have a much bigger effect on culture: are there other, more profound or impactful philosophical thought had influenced pop culture?

CC

I just wanted to say you were so right, phineas gage can get it

Nick A

I get it! I want you all to get paid more than I want to not hit the skip-ahead button. Never hurts to ask!

Sunflower star

I really appreciated how this topic, which is kind of dark, becomes a way to talk about how we can practically make a difference in the world, and the differences in how the charities can operate at scale.

Tommy McElrath

Thanks for asking my question about the Good Place Dad Ward!

AnnA

Too busy skipping through my shuffled music for the right music to make this decision to and oh shit too late

AnnA

D: this is why I don't like playing chess

AnnA

Any knowledge of other countries having people working on giving multipliers? Multiply Multiply Multiply

Megan

I'm getting caught up on my Ologies, so I'm a little behind... BUT! If USAmerican folks are interested in bridging the red/blue divide, check to see if there are any Braver Angel groups near you. They're a nonprofit organization that works to get republicans and democrats to sit at the same table and talk about issues without getting heated about it. They also do "how to have a conversation with someone that you disagree with" seminars, informal meetups, all sorts of good stuff. 10/10, absolutely recommend.

John Buchner

One of the best episodes in a long time for me. I tend to listen on my commute, so sometimes I zone out as I have to avoid crashes or get over to my exits, and most of the time, I let the missed portions go. This episode, risking life and limb to rewind whenever my attention was lost. Related note, my university is about to have a streetcar running through campus. I imagine the philosophy department is so excited.