I invite you all to join me in discussing "Would You Kill the Fat Man" on March 17th at 7:30pm in East Pyne Room 111. While the author is not an alumnus and the book is not about Princeton, it was published this year by the Princeton University Press, which you can read more about here. 

From the website:
Throughout its history...the Press has maintained a close relationship with the University: its five-member Editorial Board, which makes controlling decisions about which books will bear the Press's imprint, is appointed from the faculty by the President of the University and nine of the fifteen members on the Press's Board of Trustees must have a Princeton University connection....Although the areas of publication have shifted and expanded over the years, the Press has hewn to its charter to make available books "for the promotion of education and scholarship," frequently publishing books whose scholarly importance exceeds their financial reward.

• Would You Kill the Fat Man? The Trolley Problem and What Your Answer Tells Us about Right and Wrong by David Edmonds (Princeton University Press, 2015)

A runaway train is racing toward five men who are tied to the track. Unless the train is stopped, it will inevitably kill all five men. You are standing on a footbridge looking down on the unfolding disaster. However, a fat man, a stranger, is standing next to you: if you push him off the bridge, he will topple onto the line and, although he will die, his chunky body will stop the train, saving five lives. Would you kill the fat man?

The question may seem bizarre. But it's one variation of a puzzle that has baffled moral philosophers for almost half a century and that more recently has come to preoccupy neuroscientists, psychologists, and other thinkers as well. In this book, David Edmonds, coauthor of the best-selling Wittgenstein's Poker, tells the riveting story of why and how philosophers have struggled with this ethical dilemma, sometimes called the trolley problem. In the process, he provides an entertaining and informative tour through the history of moral philosophy. Most people feel it's wrong to kill the fat man. But why? After all, in taking one life you could save five. As Edmonds shows, answering the question is far more complex--and important--than it first appears. In fact, how we answer it tells us a great deal about right and wrong.

I look forward to seeing you all in March! I promise to announce the location once it has been confirmed.  Please email me at bookclub.admin@princetonaaa.org with your interest. 

Best,
Linsay '08

Editor's Note:
Best-selling author and Princeton alumnus Ian Caldwell ’98 will be joining an upcoming PA3 Book Club later this season to discuss his newly-released and highly acclaimed new work “The Fifth Gospel”.  Ian will also be joining us for a Book Reading and Signing event this spring.  Watch your PA3 emails for more details.