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469 BCE
SOCRATES
Socrates was an Athenian philosopher whose questions and opinions clashed with the current course of Athenian politics and society. He was accused of corrupting the youth and disbelieving the gods of the city and was sentenced to death by poison. His philosophy stated that one develops ethics through maturity, wisdom and love. He believed virtue was found primarily in human relationships, love and friendship, not through material gains. -
428 BCE
PLATO
Plato ranks among the greatest philosophers of the world, and is viewed as the most important Philosopher of Western civilization. Plato maintains a virtue-based conception of ethics, stating happiness or well-being as the highest aim of moral thought and conduct, and the virtues are the requisite skills and dispositions needed to attain it. He came to the conclusion that reason and wisdom should reign, thereby rejecting Athenian democracy's ideas of just a few being qualified to lead. -
384 BCE
ARISTOTLE
He is one of the most important founding figures in Western Philosophy, and first to create a comprehensive system of philosophy, mainly Ethics, Politics, Mathematics, etc. In Ethics, Aristotle introduced the concept of what is usually referred to as the golden mean of moderation. He believed that every virtue resides somewhere between the vices of defect and excess. He stated that to be happy, live life in moderation. -
341 BCE
EPICRUS
Epicurus is regarded as a significant person in the history of science and philosophy. He lived during the Hellenistic period and was a Greek philosopher. He was the creator of Epicureanism, an ancient Greek philosophical system whose major purpose was to cultivate friendship, freedom, and an examined existence in order to achieve a pleasant, serene life without suffering or fear. His metaphysics was primarily materialistic, his epistemology empiricist, and his ethics hedonistic. -
354
ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO
He is famous for being an inimitable Catholic theologian and for his contributions to Western philosophy. Augustine regards ethics as an enquiry into the the supreme good, which provides the happiness all human beings seek. .Augustine held that all creation partakes of truth in varying degrees, that man as the highest part of creation, created in God’s image and thus sharing to some degree the divine nature, is able to know truth through the divine light and the light of his own mind. -
1225
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Thomas Aquinas was an Italian philosopher and theologian known as the Angelic Doctor. He emphasizes the intrinsic connection between happiness and the human good, human virtue, and the precepts of practical reason. Aquinas’s ethical theory involves both principles having an underlying goal. The purpose of principles and virtues is to direct people towards the goal of human fulfilment, or living a worthwhile life. -
THOMAS HOBBES
Thomas Hobbes," Moral Positivism, " anticipates the chaotic outcome if laws are not abided. 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. For him, each country is in a constant battle for power and wealth. -
IMMANUEL KANT
Immanuel Kant was one of the most prominent intellectuals in the field of political philosophy. Today, justice systems in democracies are fundamentally based on Kant’s writings. Kant’s ethics are organized around the notion of a “categorical imperative,” which is a universal ethical principle stating that one should always respect the humanity in others, and that one should only act in accordance with rules that could hold for everyone. -
JEREMY BENTHAM
Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher and political radical. He is primarily known today for his moral philosophy, especially his principle of utilitarianism, which evaluates actions based upon their consequences. Bentham's moral philosophy mirrors his psychological belief that pleasure and pain are the prime motivators in human beings. He advocated that if the consequences of an action are good, then the act is moral and if the consequences are bad, the act is immoral. -
JOHN STUART MILL
John Stuart Mill was the most influential English language philosopher of the nineteenth century. The ethical theory of John Stuart Mill is most extensively articulated in his classical text Utilitarianism (1861). Its goal is to justify the utilitarian principle as the foundation of morals. This principle says actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote overall human happiness. -
HENRY SIDGWICK
Henry was one of the most influential ethical philosophers of the Victorian era. Sidgwick defines virtue as a praiseworthy quality that is exhibited in right conduct and that extends beyond the limits of moral duty. He defines methods of ethics as rational procedures "for determining right conduct in any particular case". He claims that there are three general methods of making value choices that are commonly used in ordinary morality: intuitionism, egoism, and utilitarianism. -
JOHN RAWLS
John Rawls was an American political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Rawls addresses justice on the basis of fairness and puts forth that fairness is achieved when each and every individual has access to the services she needs. The important aspect of Rawls's view is that justice can be achieved not by absolute equity but by fairness and justified his claim depending on two principles.