Michael Quote #128

Quote from Michael in The Trolley Problem

Chidi: Okay, Michael... trust me. When it comes to human ethics, I just know more than you. I've been studying it my whole life.
Michael: It's just that it's so theoretical, you know? I mean, you know, maybe there's a more... concrete approach. Here, let's try this.
[After Michael snaps his fingers, he, Chidi and Eleanor are suddenly on a trolley car in a busy city district]
Chidi: Oh, God! Michael, what did you do? [trolley bell ringing]
Michael: I made The Trolley Problem real so we could see how the ethics would actually play out. There are five workers on this track and one over there. Here are the levers to switch the tracks. Make a choice.
Chidi: T-the thing is, I mean, ethically speaking...
Eleanor: No time, dude! Make a decision!
Chidi: Well, it's tricky! I mean, on the one hand, if you ascribe to a purely utilitarian worldview...
[Chidi is splattered with blood as the trolley crashes into the five workers.]
Michael: Okay. So... what did we learn?

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 ‘The Trolley Problem’ Quotes

Quote from Tahani

Tahani: Jason's a nice person, but my suitors were always of a certain echelon. I used what I called the "Duke Rule," because Duke is both minimum acceptable university and rank of nobility.
Janet: You've never dated anyone like Jason before.
Tahani: I mean, I've dallied below my station. I once had a brief fling with a non-famous Hemsworth brother, but even Larry Hemsworth had more status than Jason. Jason didn't even have a job... in a sad way, not in the good, rich way.

Quote from Michael

Chidi: I just want to have a little chat about your progress. In the last homework assignment, I asked you to examine the ethics of "Les Miserables," in which a man steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving family. Would you please read your first paragraph here?
Michael: "Everyone in this story sucks and belongs in the Bad Place. The thief is bad. The officer chasing him is bad. All the whiny prostitutes are bad. Plus, they're all French, so they're going to the Bad Place automatically."
Chidi: Do you see how you're already off topic?
Michael: Chidi, I've been around a long time... like, all of it. But I know for a fact that if you steal a loaf of bread, it's a negative 17 points... 20 if it's a baguette because that makes you more French.
Chidi: Okay. Sure. But philosophy is about questioning things that you take for granted, and I-I just don't think that you're doing that. I mean, "I personally know that Victor Hugo is in the Bad Place being tortured. He's a real wuss, too. If one of the lava monsters even gets near the guy, he's like, 'Sacre bleu, I peed in m' pants.'"
Michael: I don't know what you want from me. T-that's exactly what he said.

Quote from Chidi

Chidi: But definitely a no on the rap musical?
Eleanor: I mean, if we really...
Chidi: [rapping] My name is Kierkegaard, and my writing is impeccable. Check out my teleological suspension of the ethical.
Eleanor: No.
Chidi: No! Right? [laughs] No, it felt like a no when I was doing it.