Utilitarianism in Ethical Decision-Making

In the Trolley problem, a trolley is hurtling down a track towards five people. You are standing on a footbridge under which it will pass, and you can stop it by dropping a heavy weight in front of it. As it happens, there is a very fat man next to you - your only way to stop the trolley is to push him over the bridge and onto the track. This decision is a classic illustration of utilitarianism - the belief in making decisions that yield the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Here, the ethical dilemma is whether sacrificing one life to save five is a decision that results in the greatest good.