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384 BCE
Aristotle (384 BCE–322 BCE)
According to Aristotle, his works deal with theoretical sciences including his writings in physics, biology and astronomy. He also mentions his writing in practical sciences for example Nicomachean Ethics and in logic for example Organon. Aristotle was thought of as a person who knew all the knowledge available at his time. He was the first person in western civilization who gives a procedural and systematic account of subject of ethics. We now turn to his ethical philosophy. -
Immanuel Kant, 1724–1804
During the Enlightenment (1685–1815). He thinks that we can gain knowledge from our senses and through our rational capacities. This means his general philosophical approach starts by asking what we can know a priori.This is key to understanding his work but also makes his writing on ethics seem a bit odd. We think the study of ethics— unlike say maths— ought to direct our eye to what is going on around us in the world.Yet Kant starts by turning his eyes “inward” to thinking about ethical ideas. -
The Ethics of Bentham and Mill: Utilitarianism
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. -
John Rawls, 1921-2002
Rawls begins by considering the original position where parties deliberate about the rules of right conduct that will be universally applicable in society. In the bargaining position, parties are impartial, that is, everyone’s interest count equally. This is guaranteed by the so-called veil of ignorance that hides from contractors any knowledge of themselves. You do not know your race, sex, social class, or nationality from behind the veil of ignorance.