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The Examined Life · Chapter 5

The Trolley

A runaway tram, a lever, and the two great answers to what is right

A tram is loose, and five lives stand against one. Mira and two friends use a famous thought experiment to meet the two great answers to a single question: how do we decide what is right?

12 panels · ~6 min read

A warm philosophy guide stands in a stylized chalk-drawn tram yard, one hand open in welcome, inviting the reader into an imaginary thought experiment.

Panel 1

A chalk schematic on a grey floor shows a toy tram on a track that splits at a lever, with five flat silhouette figures on one line and a single silhouette on the other.

Panel 2

A confident teen grips a large chalk-and-brass lever, leaning to throw it, with chalk rails sweeping toward distant silhouette figures.

Panel 3

A philosophy guide raises one hand as if weighing an invisible balance, with faint chalk motifs of a scale and a crowd beside a single figure floating behind her.

Panel 4

A troubled teen stands close to the frame, hand hovering near a chalk lever without touching it, brow drawn, a single silhouette glowing softly behind him.

Panel 5

A chalk footbridge arcs over rail lines; two small figures stand on it while a toy tram rolls toward five distant silhouettes, and the guide gestures up at the bridge.

Panel 6

Two teens stand near a chalk footbridge, leaning back and raising their hands in instinctive refusal, a heavy silhouette still on the bridge behind them.

Panel 7

A philosophy guide stands calm and centered, one hand at her chest, with faint chalk motifs of a single figure ringed by a protective circle floating behind her.

Panel 8

A philosophy guide lifts a hand toward a faint chalk portrait medallion of a thoughtful philosopher, with a set of scales and a shielded figure drifting apart nearby.

Panel 9

Two teens stand slightly apart on either side of a soft line of light on the floor, calm and thoughtful, having reached different conclusions.

Panel 10

A philosophy guide smiles gently and holds up one hand where a faint chalk outline of the whole trolley diagram softly reflects, like a mirror turned on the viewer.

Panel 11

A philosophy guide addresses the reader warmly as faint chalk motifs of a lever, silhouettes, and a footbridge soften into everyday emblems of sharing, fairness, and kindness.

Panel 12

Cover