The trolley problem has always been really interesting to me, not because of the problem as it is usually considered, but because of the framing of the problem.

We could stop the trolley, derail the trolley, hop on board the trolley and take control of it. All of these, and more, are within our power.

But those are not valid choices. The trolley must not be stopped, even if the trolley will end all human life.

We can only choose whether the trolley goes left, or right.

We must never ask who put the people on the track, or why we can’t protect people from the excesses of the trolley.