I've enjoyed tutoring on Jeremy Bentham and his theory on Utilitarianism. One of the best illustrations I've found to explain his system is the railway switch paradigm. You have a runaway train racing down the tracks and you have to make a decision and you need to make it fast. The train is barreling down at a toddler on the track who will surely die if the train stays on its course. You have the option of (in a split second) switching the train to an opposing track that will send it on a course to surely kill five men who’ve been tied up on the track. What do you do? Your answer to this dilemma may be different depending on additional information you may have on the child or the group of men. Let us say for instance (example A) four of the five men are convicted felons who have a history of recidivism. On the other hand let us say (example B) all of the men are quite heroic and have squeaky clean records and the child has been proven to be a problem child as well as having problems with demonic possession. Having this additional information can help you to make the “best” decision. If you put Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism to use, you will try to ensure that the best outcome is the greatest benefit to all (society). In example ‘A’ you will surely trip the switch and in example ‘B’ you leave the train to run the child down. The point is that your reasoning is guided by the principle that they greatest good should be the outcome, no matter the cost.