Major Ethical Philosophers and their Ethical Philosophies timeline

The founder of Western Philosophy, Socrates is nonetheless unique among entrants on this list for having produced no written works reflecting his key ideas or principles.
- Argued that Athenians were wrong-headed in their emphasis on families, careers, and politics at the expense of the welfare of their souls;
- Believed misdeeds were a consequence of ignorance, that those who engaged in non-virtuous behavior did so because they didn’t know any better.

Greek philosopher and teacher Plato did nothing less than found the first institution of higher learning in the Western World.
- Those whose beliefs are limited only to perception are failing to achieve a higher level of perception.
- Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge.
- Plato believes that in order to explain reality one must appeal to two radically different sorts of substances, in this case, material (visible) and immaterial substance (invisible).

Aristotle is among the most important and influential thinkers and teachers in human history.
- Asserted the use of logic as a method of argument and offered the basic methodological template for analytical discourse;
- Defined metaphysics as “the knowledge of immaterial being,” and used this framework to examine the relationship between substance (a combination of matter and form) and essence, from which he devises that man is comprised from a unity of the two.

Chinese teacher, writer, and philosopher Confucius viewed himself as a channel for the theological ideas and values of the imperial dynasties that came before him.
- Concepts of respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice and the moral values of these four prima facie principles have been expressly identified in Confucius' ethics.
- Believed in the value of achieving ethical harmony through skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules and advocated for strong family bond

Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy.
- He believes that human beings are basically selfish creatures who would do anything to improve
their position.
- Hobbes’ moral positivism anticipates the chaotic outcome if laws are not abided. We all believe that the purpose of the government is to protect the rights of its people, preserve justice and enforce the laws.

Immanuel Kant's most distinctive contribution to ethics was his insistence that one's actions possess moral worth only when one does his duty for its own sake.
- Defined the “Categorical imperative,” the idea that there are intrinsically good and moral ideas to which we all have a duty, and that rational individuals will inherently find reason in adhering to moral obligation.
- Argued that humanity can achieve a perpetual peace through universal democracy and international cooperation.

Jeremy Bentham was a philosopher, economist, jurist, and legal reformer and he is primarily known today for his moral philosophy, especially his principle of utilitarianism.
- "Utilitarianism", an ethical theory holding that actions are morally right if they tend to promote happiness or pleasure (and morally wrong if they tend to promote unhappiness or pain) among all those affected by them. This theory evaluates actions based upon their consequences.

Philosopher John Stuart Mill is considered a linchpin of modern social and political theory. He contributed a critical body of work to the school of thought called liberalism, an ideology founding on the extension of individual liberties and economic freedoms.
- Advocated strongly for the human right of free speech, and asserted that free discourse is necessary for social and intellectual progress;
- Stated the need for a system of “constitutional checks” on state authority.

A German-born economist, political theorist, and philosopher, Karl Marx wrote some of the most revolutionary philosophical content ever produced.
- Advocated a view called historical materialism, arguing for the demystification of thought and idealism in favor of closer acknowledgement of the physical and material actions shaping the world;
- Argued that societies develop through class struggle, and that this would ultimately lead to the dismantling of capitalism;

Friedrich Nietzsche was a poet, cultural critic, and philosopher, as well as possessor of among the most gifted minds in human history and his writing is articulation of the crisis of nihilism.
- Favored perspectivism, which held that truth is not objective but is the consequence of various factors effecting individual perspective
- Believed in the individual’s creative capacity to resist social norms and cultural convention in order to live according to a greater set of virtues.