How did R.M. Hare combine act-consequentialist and rule-consequentialist thinking?

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Jeremy Bentham: auto-icon — Utilitarianism English philosopher and economist Jeremy Bentham's preserved skeleton in his own clothes and surmounted by a wax head, at University College London.

In his work Moral Thinking, R.M. Hare proposed a two-level framework that integrates act- and rule-consequentialist reasoning to address the practical limitations of moral decision-making.1

Critical Level: At this level, Hare employs act-consequentialist logic. One engages in critical thinking to determine which principles should govern behavior by calculating which actions produce the best consequences. However, Hare acknowledged that this process is often too complex or time-consuming for everyday life.1
Intuitive Level: To handle daily decision making, Hare introduced an intuitive level. Here, individuals act according to learned, fundamental moral principles rather than performing new calculations for every action. These principles are selected by critical thinking specifically because they are the ones that, when followed intuitively by most people, yield the best overall consequences.1

By restricting the complexity of these intuitive rules so they can be easily taught and applied, Hare maintains a consequentialist foundation while providing a practical, rule-based guide for human conduct.1