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Major Ethical Philosophies

  • Deontology

    Deontology
    Immanuel Kant, the theory's celebrated proponent, formulated the most influential form of a secular deontological moral theory in 1788. According the theory of utility, the best consequence is happiness/pleasure, because it is considered the absolute good.
  • Utilitarianism

    Utilitarianism
    Utilitarianism is a theory of morality that advocates actions that foster happiness or pleasure and oppose actions that cause unhappiness or harm. When directed toward making social, economic, or political decisions, a utilitarian philosophy would aim for the betterment of society as a whole.
  • Ethical Egoism

    Ethical Egoism
    Ethical egoism is the view that people ought to pursue their own self-interest, and no one has any obligation to promote anyone else’s interests. It is thus a normative or prescriptive theory: it is concerned with how people ought to behave
  • Ethics of Care

    Ethics of Care
    The ethics of care is a distinctive approach to moral theory that emphasizes the importance of responsibility, concern, and relationship over consequences (utilitarianism) or rules (deontologism)
  • Virtue Ethics

    Virtue Ethics
    Virtue ethics is a broad term for theories that emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing one’s duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences. A virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: “Act as a virtuous person would act in your situation.”