Virtue ethics is agent-centred ethics rather than act-centred. Aristotle was an Ancient Greek philosopher and believed that everyone wants to live a full and happy life, this is known as eudaimonia. Eudaimonia is the idea of ideal happiness and it is the highest good, because we desire it for its own sake and not as a means to an end. In his book, Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle stated that we want to be good, and there is a difference to things that are good as means, and things that are good as ends. A good life is something inherently worth having, unlike justice which is worth having because it leads to a good life.
Aristotle develops this and distinguishes between things that are good as means (for the sake of something else) and things that are good as ends (for their own sake only). Aristotle believes that our end or telos is to achieve eudaimonia (flourishing in society). Aristotle discusses the traits or virtues one who achieves eudaimonia would have and that a good human life is characterised by the virtues. Central to Aristotle’s idea is that humans should live in harmony with each other, as we are not just rational beings but also social beings. Aristotle saw two types of virtues: intellectual and moral virtues.
In other way we can state that it is always moral to promote self-interest and it is not moral not to promote it. So it is a moral duty of every person to pursue his or her own interest. According to Ethical Egoism, there is only one ultimate principle of conduct, the principle of self-interest, and this principle sums up all of one’s natural duties and obligations. The only way, through which you can help others, according to Ethical Egoism, if it is in someone’s best interest to help others. Ethical Egoism talks only about the self-interest which is better for the person over long run.
Ethics, on the other hand, are how we actually do behave in the face of those difficult situations that test our moral fiber. Ethicist Rushworth Kidder believes ethics are based on 5 core values: honesty, responsibility, respect, fairness and compassion and lacking just one of these can make you unethical. The easiest of these decisions we may have to make are those between what is right and what is wrong. In his book, How Good People Make Tough Choices, ethicist Rushworth Kidder explains that while most of us can tell right from wrong, the situations that truly test our ethics are those questions of right vs. right. He defines these as ethical dilemmas precisely because “each side is firmly rooted in one of our basic, core values.” They pit one of the values we hold dear against another and are “at the heart of our toughest choices”.
Comparison between deontological and utilitarian ethics Deontological ethics Deontology is a normative theory attributed to Immanuel Kant, which focuses on the concept of the duty. It is concerned on fulfilling what is believed to be a moral duty without considering its impact to other people. It takes the stand that the duty defines the right actions regardless of the consequences. The hold of deontological ethics is that doing right is what conform the moral laws. According to Kant, right actions are not done by following inclinations, impulses or obeying the principle of greatest happiness but are done simply and purely from the sense of duty.
Explain the theory of duty in Kantian Ethics (25 marks) Kantian ethics is an absolutist theory as Kant claimed what is morally ‘good’ is constant and unchanging. Because of this, it can be a universal concept applied in different societies and cultures with the idea that an action should only be performed for duty’s sake. His approach was deontological because the idea of right or wrong was based on the action rather than the consequence, he believed that this was the only rational basis for morality and could be proven objectively, independent from emotion and opinion. As humans we have the innate ability to reason, something which we gained prior to any sensory experience in this world. This is an idea which is absolute and according to Kant, the way we decide the morality of an action.
The Distinction of Virtue Ethics from other normative ethical theories In this essay, I will focus on a particular trait of Virtue ethics, which is “it has No Rules, or Too General Rules”. I will argue that this trait is the one of the main distinctions among other theories, and that this feature is an advantage to the theory. Virtue ethics is a normative theory where in the west, has its roots from the ancient work of Aristotle. The theory puts a strong emphasis on virtues and/or moral character, explaining that ethical behavior of a person is strongly related to the role and virtues of his/her character, in contrast the ways of deontology and consequentialism. Where in deontology the emphasis is on duties or rules, and in consequentialism it focuses on the concequences of one’s actions.
Virtue Theory Virtue theory is the theory of what it means to be good. Coming from the Greek word of excellence, virtue theory or ethics is the explanation of a lifetime of acts that makes up a person’s character. We do not judge individual events when it comes to virtue theory or ethics, we judge the sum of events or decisions the person made throughout a long period of time. Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is the thought or the theory that is defined by providing the best scenario for the group or largest group possible. It does not focus on the individual.
That goal is to do what is morally right, if it be through pleasure to avoid pain. This defines utilitarianism. Specific kinds of rules that tells a person what is right and why it is right defines deontology. A good person and doing the right thing, defines virtue. Even though each theory has its own unique way of portraying the act of doing ‘the right thing’, they seem to do just that.
Aristotle identified some intellectual virtues, the most important of which was wisdom; Sophia (theoretical wisdom) and phronesis (practical wisdom). The other eight moral virtues include: Prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. Extend to the current theory emphasizes explanatory primacy of virtues, particularism, communal values and ethics’ contribution to the good