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Period: 384 BCE to 322 BCE
The Ethics of Aristotle: Virtue Theory
Aristotle’s principle work on ethics, The Nicomachean Ethics, was dedicated either to his father or son, both of whom were named Nicomachus, a popular name within his family. In Ethics, where Aristotle laid out the essence of virtue theory, he stated that if we truly desire people to be ethical, then we must have them practice ethics from an early age. -
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The Ethics of Immanuel Kant: Deontology
The term deontology stems from the Greek deon—duty, obligation, or command. As an ethical system, it is the radical opposite of utilitarianism in that it holds that the consequences of a moral decision are of no matter whatsoever. What is important are the motives as to why one has acted in the way that one has. So an action may have beneficial results, but still be unethical if it has been performed for the wrong reasons. -
The Ethics of Bentham and Mill: Utilitarianism
As an ethical system today, though it has application to many areas beyond that simply of lawmaking, holds to this same principle. When making moral decisions, we are advised to select that action which produces the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. If the balance of good or happiness or usefulness outweighs that of evil, harm, or unhappiness, then the choice is a moral one. On the other hand, if the balance of evil outweighs that of good, then the choice is immoral. -
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The Ethics of John Rawls: Justice Theory
To be fair, Rawls insisted, human justice must be centered on a firm foundation comprising a first and second principle. The first principle declared that “each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.” These liberties included traditional ones such as freedom of thought and speech, the vote, a fair trial when accused of a crime, and the ownership of some personal property not subject to the state’s seizure.