“电车难题”不难吗?——与赵汀阳、李德顺商榷

Isn’t the Trolley Problem Difficult?——Discussion with Zhao TingYang and Li Deshun

"电车难题"之所以被称为"难题",是因为西方学界讨论了50多年也未获公认定论。但赵汀阳、李德顺二位学者则分别给出了自己的不难论证和难题解法。然而经分析可知,二者的不难论证均很牵强,不能成立。前者的问题是论证缺乏根据、自相矛盾,存在误判;后者的问题则主要是归因不当,即将难题的出现和无解归因于价值独断主义。赵汀阳解法的不成立表现为由于改变了电车难题所给定的条件,实际上解的已不是原来的电车难题,即便是对这个被改变了条件的电车难题的解法,也经不起推敲。李德顺解法的不成立表现为,把自己通过构想得到的一个没有任何理论根据的结果,当作了"实际中已经存在"的"有效的解决方式",并且,此解法所回答的也根本不是电车难题的本问。

The trolley problem is widely recognized as a "dilemma" because it has been discussed for more than 50 years in the western academic world without any consensus yet.But Zhao Tingyang and Li Deshun,two Chinese scholars,both argue that the trolley problem is not difficult,and respectively give their own arguments and solutions.However,through analysis in this paper,it is believed that their arguments are too far-fetched to be valid.The problem with the former is tat arguments are ill-founded,contradictory,and misjudged;the problem of the latter is mainly due to improper attribution,that is,the emergence and non-explanation of the problem are caused by value dogmatism.The two scholars’ solution to the trolley problem is not only quite complicated,but also untenable.The failure of Zhao Tingyang’s solution is reflected in the fact that the solution to the trolley problem is no longer the original trolley problem due to the change of the given conditions.Moreover,even the solution to the trolley problem with the changed conditions cannot withstand the examination.The failure of Li Deshun’s solution is manifested in that he regards a result he has conceived without any theoretical basis as an "effective solution" that "already exists in reality".Moreover,this solution does not answer the original question of the trolley problem at all.That is to say, not only is the solution not working,but both of their arguements belong to irrelevant answer.