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Period: 469 BCE to 399 BCE
Socrates
He encouraged his students to investigate one of the most challenging paradoxes: whether it was possible to have a weak will and act wrongly even when you honestly understood what was right. He gave the impression that people only made poor decisions when the apparent benefits appeared to outweigh the costs at the time. Therefore, mastering what he called "the art of measurement" removing the biases that skew one's calculations of value and cost, is essential to the formation of personal ethics. -
Period: 428 BCE to 348 BCE
Plato
Plato's major goal is to dispute the common perceptions of goodness because it is in this area that people fail miserably in their attempts to live happy lives. Most people believe that virtue is a secondary benefit or perhaps a hindrance to happiness. Plato believes that this is untrue; the only way we have to hope to be happy is to be good. -
Period: 384 BCE to 322 BCE
Aristotle
According to Aristotle, virtues are constructive habits we develop that control our emotions. For instance, one should develop the virtue of bravery, which enables a person to be solid when facing danger or terror, in reaction to a normal emotion of apprehension. Aristotle went on to say that most virtues lie in the middle of a range of strong character traits. His "The Golden Mean Principle" states that leading a moderate lifestyle will make you happy. -
Utilitarianism
Cost-benefit analysis and labor-management dispute settlement both make use of the utilitarian principle. The adage, "Do whatever produces the greatest good for the greatest number," best summarizes utilitarian ethics, which contends that an action's results, not its motivation, determine whether it is right or wrong. The results or repercussions of an action define its goodness or badness. A deed is good if it works, makes you successful, and help you achieve your objectives. If not, it's bad -
Moral Positivism
According to Thomas Hobbes, people are essentially self-centered beings who will do whatever to further their own interests. Hobbes argued that humans could not be trusted to make judgments on their own because if left alone, they would act on their wicked impulses. Hobbes also believed that much like people, governments are driven by selfish desires. For him, there is a never-ending struggle for wealth and power among all nations.