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Thought experiment in contemporary science fiction (based on the trolley problem)

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Title: Thought experiment in contemporary science fiction (based on the trolley problem)
Authors: Irina Borisovna Kazakova, Tatyana Victorovna Kozhevnikova
Source: Philology. Theory & Practice. 18:2264-2269
Publisher Information: Gramota Publishing, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Description: The aim of the study is to identify the features of using the thought experiment in science fiction literature as a method for exploring worldview-related issues. The article analyzes the specifics of applying the thought experiment in philosophical and scientific cognition and determines the conditions necessary for its integration into works of fiction. As an example of a thought experiment embedded in a literary text, the article discusses the trolley problem – an ethical thought experiment that places a person in a situation of choosing between a lesser and a greater evil. Various solutions to the trolley problem are examined in the works of contemporary science fiction authors Robert Sawyer and Peter Watts. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that, for the first time, it compares the ways the trolley problem thought experiment is resolved in the science fiction works of R. Sawyer and P. Watts. The study concludes that both authors associate this thought experiment with the ethical issues of utilitarianism; however, R. Sawyer emphasizes the priority of a rational approach to solving moral problems, while P. Watts expresses skepticism regarding the very possibility of a rational approach to moral questions.
Document Type: Article
ISSN: 2782-4543
DOI: 10.30853/phil20250317
Rights: CC BY
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Irina+Borisovna+Kazakova%22">Irina Borisovna Kazakova</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tatyana+Victorovna+Kozhevnikova%22">Tatyana Victorovna Kozhevnikova</searchLink>
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  Data: The aim of the study is to identify the features of using the thought experiment in science fiction literature as a method for exploring worldview-related issues. The article analyzes the specifics of applying the thought experiment in philosophical and scientific cognition and determines the conditions necessary for its integration into works of fiction. As an example of a thought experiment embedded in a literary text, the article discusses the trolley problem – an ethical thought experiment that places a person in a situation of choosing between a lesser and a greater evil. Various solutions to the trolley problem are examined in the works of contemporary science fiction authors Robert Sawyer and Peter Watts. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that, for the first time, it compares the ways the trolley problem thought experiment is resolved in the science fiction works of R. Sawyer and P. Watts. The study concludes that both authors associate this thought experiment with the ethical issues of utilitarianism; however, R. Sawyer emphasizes the priority of a rational approach to solving moral problems, while P. Watts expresses skepticism regarding the very possibility of a rational approach to moral questions.
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