IE Seminar - Bruce Lee, Zen Buddhism and the Trolley Problem
Speaker: Dr William Sin
Chair: Ms Elke Van Dermijnsbrugge
Friday 5 March 2021
The trolley problem is an example of an extreme event that requires agents’ instant response; to act well, they must utilize all resources they have within themselves, whether these resources be physical, practical or ethical in nature. This means that the solution of the trolley problem does not lie in any formulation of utilitarian calculus, or affirmation of deontological rights per se. Rather, it lies in the agents’ composure, attained by practicing a range of meditative and physical exercises.
William Sin is an assistant professor at the Education University of Hong Kong, the Department of International Education. He works on moral and comparative philosophy. His recent article “Bruce Lee and the Trolley Problem: An Analysis from an Asian Martial Arts Tradition” is published at Sports, Ethics and Philosophy. A summary of it can be found from an interview of Sin at Big Think: https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/trolley-problem-solution
Elke Van dermijnsbrugge is a Lecturer in the Department of International Education at the Education University of Hong Kong. She researches in the area of curriculum studies, philosophy of education and alternative education. She is interested in the application of utopian studies to (re)imagine educational policy, research and practice.
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