Public Health

This chapter delves into the life story of Mary Mallon—aka Typhoid Mary—in order to discuss the complexities of medical decisions in the context of pandemics and the realm of public health at large. Some trolley dilemmas are presented to examine Michael Walzer’s concept of “dirty hands”—i.e., the prospect of doing intrinsically immoral things so as to ultimately achieve favorable outcomes in situations of extreme emergency. Further trolley scenarios are discussed so as to assess whether numerical considerations are relevant in moral decision-making in the first place. Similarly, this chapter presents a series of trolley dilemmas that prompt reflection on the consideration of future generations and animals in moral decision-making. This discussion delves into the realms of population ethics and animal rights, exploring how these factors impact biomedical research and resource distribution in healthcare.