Timeline of Major Ethical Philosophies

By amaleh
  • 469 BCE

    SOCRATES

    SOCRATES
    Socrates was an Athenian Philosopher whose questions and opinions clashed with the current course of Athenian politics and society. According to Socrates, “no one commits an evil act knowingly and doing wrong arises out of ignorance.” A person will commit only moral evil if he lacks moral knowledge. Sometimes, a person may have knowledge but he deliberately commits an evil act to satisfy
    his hidden motive.
  • 428 BCE

    PLATO

    PLATO
    Plato ranks among the greatest philosophers of the world, and is viewed by many scholars as the most important Philosopher of Western civilization.(Racelis, 2017) Most people think that virtue is a minor good, or even an impediment to living a happy life. Plato considers this to be incorrect; "it is only by being virtuous that we can hope to be happy".
  • 384 BCE

    ARISTOTLE

    ARISTOTLE
    In Arabic Philosophy, he was known simply as “The First
    Teacher;” in the West, he was “The Philosopher.” Aristotle’s “The Golden Mean Principle” states that to be happy, live a life of moderation. In everything that we do, we must avoid extremes (Roa, 2007).

  • MORAL POSITIVISM

    MORAL POSITIVISM
    Thomas Hobbes believes that human beings are basically selfish creatures who would do anything to improve their position. According to Hobbes, people would act on their evil impulses if left alone for themselves; therefore, they should not be trusted to make decisions on their own. In addition, Hobbes felt that like people, nations are selfishly motivated. Hobbes’ moral positivism anticipates the chaotic outcome if laws are not abided.

  • UTILITARIANISM

    UTILITARIANISM
    Jeremy Bentham was a philosopher, economist, jurist, and legal reformer and the founder of modern utilitarianism. The utilitarian ethics is best explained by the maxim, “Do whatever produces the greatest good for the greatest number.” The theory argues that what makes an act right is its consequences and not the
    motive of the action.The effects or consequences determine the goodness or badness of an action.