Explain how a utilitarian would make a moral decision (5)

Utilitarianism is a consequentialist normative ethical theory which prescribes the moral action to be the one that maximises utility. It is unconcerned with the nature of the act itself but rather with its consequences, and thus a utilitarian would consider the same action to be moral or immoral dependent on the circumstances. Utility has classically been understood to involve the maximising of pleasure and the avoidance of pain, with Jeremy Bentham's Hedonic Calculus an example of how an act utilitarian would weigh up various factors in order to decide on a moral decision. Other utilitarians are rule utilitarians and seek to determine rules which, in general, maximise this utility. Utilitarians may also have other definitions of utility, such as Peter Singer's theory which seeks to maximise preference satisfaction rather than pleasure. Common to all utilitarians is that their theories are impartial and equal, counting all relevant moral beings for one and thus in making a moral decision a utilitarian would consider everyone, not just their own pleasures or interests. An example of how a utilitarian would make a moral decision can be given in the case of a terrorist entering a school with the intent to massacre its pupils, where the utilitarian has to decide whether to kill the terrorist in order to prevent this outcome or leave them be. The utilitarian would weigh up the consequences of the two possible outcomes and judge that killing the terrorist would, ultimately, save many lives and thus maximise the preferences or pleasure of all involved if all these beings are judged impartially. This teleological approach can be contrasted with a deontological approach which might consider the act of killing the terrorist to be intrinsically wrong and hence would advocate leaving the terrorist be.