Hi Berit,

Yes, if you aren't already part of the causal chain.  That's why on this position it matters if you're driving the trolley (and hence already in the chain) or a bystander (and not in the chain unless you switch).  I've always been inclined to that position myself and Thomson in a recent PPA article takes that position as well if I recall correctly. (I talked with her about it this summer after reading the paper and I believe she would have corrected me if I was wrong, but I urge anyone who cares to look at her article and not take my word for it.)

Again, these issues are difficult and I'm not defending my inclination here.  I'm just saying that if you think this is a relevant difference there is an important difference between Eric's question which fills in the details and the philpapers survey which did not fill in these details.

It is worth noting that even those who think that being in the causal chain matters can also think that at some point the extent to which it matters is swamped by the number of lives saved by switching.