The Demands of Utilitarianism

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This 5 page paper discusses a problem that can be used to illustrate the basic principles of Utilitarianism. Engineer Bill sees a little girl caught on the railroad tracks, but if he tries to stop quickly he'll derail his train and cause the death of hundreds. Does he save the girl or the passengers? Utilitarianism argues that he has to do what will benefit the greater good, which means he will sacrifice one child to save hundreds of people.