<i>The Majority</i> Tests the Limits of Democracy
A new play considers the ethics of punching a Nazi, among other timely—and timeless—questions.
The trolley problem, that hoary old mainstay of philosophy syllabi and drunken ethical squabbles, is, to put it bluntly, hot right now. Just this year, it’s popped up in episodes of both Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Orange Is the New Black, as characters wrestled with the principles of utilitarianism and what it means to try to do good in the world. It’s also become a meme, as ’s Select All last year: a framework for people to explore everything from pro-life principles to the death of Harambe.
