Utilitarianism

You are waiting in line at the airport. The line is really long but you are almost at the front of it. A man approaches you and says that he is about to miss his flight. He asks if he can go in front of you so he can skip most of the line and have a better chance at catching his flight. Do you let him?

Is it ok to torture someone if it may prevent a future terrorist attack?

You have a job where you work in marketing for a concert. You can use this position to either encourage people to go by car, which will be most convenient for them, or by bus, which will allow the transportation of more people.

Would you be able to kill baby Hitler if it would prevent the rise of Nazi Germany?

You see a man rob a bank. Instead of keeping the money, he donates it to the poor. You can either turn him in, which will likely see the money returned, or keep quiet.

You are going out with 4 friends on your birthday. You and one other friend love laser tag and want to play it, but the other three friends do not want to play laser tag. One of your friends suggests mini-golf, because, while none of you love it, all of you like it enough that you are willing to play it. Do you play laser tag anyways or compromise with mini golf?

2 different companies offer you a job. One company offers you a very well paying job where your work will have very little impact. The other company offers a much lower paying job but your work will actually make a difference. Which job do you accept?

You are a doctor with 5 very ill patients. Each requires an organ transplant to return to good health. Another ill patient will die without treatment, but can easily be treated with medicine. You can either let this one patient die and use their organs to save the other patients, or treat them just like you would any other patient.

You are stranded on an island with 3 other people. You are running out of food and will probably not find any more before you starve. Your group suggests cutting up and eating the weakest link. Do you turn to cannibalism or hope that you will find another way?

An infamous serial killer is never caught. The police catch up to him decades after his last crime. During this time he has become a changed man with a wife and 2 kids. He also is very old, and probably only has a few years left to live. Should he have to face justice for his actions or should he be allowed to spend his final years with his family?