My objection to the Trolley problem is that it assumes that people are interchangeable like ants and that the only thing that matters is "lifes saved".
Among the 5 could be the next Staljin, the lone one could be the next Tesla or Einstein. Or to make it nearer real-life: among the 5 you could have a a future school-shooter, and the lone one could be a physician or a charity worker providing care for homeless people.
So in this improbable situation, I'd most probably decide that I won't play "god" (in quotes, as I'm not religious), that the setup is as it is for some unknown $reason (it could _also_ be an unusual method of capital punishment where all 6 get executed eventually) and would not touch anything. (After all, people don't tie themselves to train tracks only to remotely activate a trolley that'll kill them. So there's a another party in the play here.)
Inaction has also the advantage of plausible deniability if I were afterwards asked about why I had made the choice. I could just plausibly say that I froze when faced with an impossible choice. Freezing is indistinguishable from conscious choice to do nothing. (Imagine that you admit conscious choice -- WHATEVER you choose -- and have to later explain yourself to the deceased one's family(ies).)
Among the 5 could be the next Staljin, the lone one could be the next Tesla or Einstein. Or to make it nearer real-life: among the 5 you could have a a future school-shooter, and the lone one could be a physician or a charity worker providing care for homeless people.
So in this improbable situation, I'd most probably decide that I won't play "god" (in quotes, as I'm not religious), that the setup is as it is for some unknown $reason (it could _also_ be an unusual method of capital punishment where all 6 get executed eventually) and would not touch anything. (After all, people don't tie themselves to train tracks only to remotely activate a trolley that'll kill them. So there's a another party in the play here.)
Inaction has also the advantage of plausible deniability if I were afterwards asked about why I had made the choice. I could just plausibly say that I froze when faced with an impossible choice. Freezing is indistinguishable from conscious choice to do nothing. (Imagine that you admit conscious choice -- WHATEVER you choose -- and have to later explain yourself to the deceased one's family(ies).)