u/Chaos_Bard

How can we know if our actions minimize suffering or maximize joy, if we cannot foresee all eventual outcomes? Pulling the lever in the trolley problem may end one life rather than four, but what if those four would eventually be responsible for untold suffering, while the one could have cured diseases and ended world hunger?

Taking that one step further, how can any form of morality work on limited or imperfect information? What is good or beneficial in the short term may not be so in the long term.

I am, clearly, not a philosopher. I had exactly one undergraduate-level philosophy class. Please forgive my ignorance and I sincerely appreciate any replies.