| The Seven Moral Philosophies | Compare and Contrast Research Paper | | Terence A. Betts | 3/27/2011 |
Instructor: Kimber Cramer
Davenport University
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The textbook breaks down seven philosophies used in business decisions; they are Teleology, Egoism, Utilitarianism, Deontology, Relativist, Virtue ethics, and Justice. In this paper I will define each of the seven listed and compare and contrast so that it is clear to decipher each one from the other. Also I will provide an example of each philosophy to help provide further clarity. The first of the seven philosophies I will be discussing is Teleology. Teleology is defined in where an act is considered acceptable if the outcome or result is a desired one. This
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The fifth philosophy that we will break down and discuss is a Relativist. Relativist comes from the word relativism. Relativism is a theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics, which conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them. A relativist for example will say who is to say what is moral or immoral? Everybody has their own opinion about what is right and wrong. So ethics to a relativist is a matter of an individuals own feelings or opinion.
The text lists three forms of relativism which are descriptive, metaethical, and normative. Descriptive relativism deals with observing different cultures and their values. Metaethical relativist believes that people see things from their own opinion and feel that you cannot solve ethical disputes between value and individuals. Lastly, normative relativist feels that one person’s ideas or opinion is equally or just as good as anyone else’s. These three forms break down the meaning of relativism. Whereas relativism is general and the three forms descriptive, metaethical, and normative are specific in their meaning. One flaw that relativism possesses is that it focuses too much on peoples differences and ignores people’s similarities. Virtue ethics is defined as conformity to a standard of right and a particular moral of excellence, (Merriam-Webster, 2010). This particular theory judges people by their
Hursthouse presents an outline of these ethical approaches. First, deontology premise one the action is right if it follows the guideline of a “moral rule or principle”, and premise two a correct moral is either “required by rationality” or the “rational acceptance from behind the veil of ignorance and so on…”. Then she presents act-utilitarianism, premise one the action is correct if it comes out with the best outcome, and premise two if the best outcomes presents that “happiness is maximized”. Finally, the author presents virtue theory. Virtue theory, the action is correct “if it is what a virtuous agent what do in the circumstances”. She then explains what a virtuous person is, and discusses how a virtuous
The Unified Ethic according to Geuras and Garofalo is based on the compounding of several ethical methodologies. Of the four methodologies that is mentioned Teleology is the first discussed in detail, and relates heavily to happiness. The second is Deontology believes that we should act in a principled manner, and that this affects many aspects of our everyday life. Intuitionism, which believes that all humans should make decisions based on their own emotions. Lastly of the four is virtue theory which argues that in order to understand the decisions a person makes, then the entirety of that person should be evaluated. These four modes create an all-encompassing ethic according to Geuras, and Garofalo. They believe that the unified ethic can
The ethical relativism theory is that morality refers to the norms of a culture. This means that whether an action is right or wrong is dependent on the moral norms of the society it is practiced in. The same action may be morally right in one society, but morally wrong in a different one.
Ethical relativist deny any objective moral values. Cultural relativism explains that in different times and in different places people act in different ways; they acquire different values and ideas of what is morally right and wrong. Moral relativism explains that there are no moral absolutes; everyone can do what they please and how they want whenever they like.
According to Mosser (2013) "Relativism is the idea that one's beliefs and values are understood in terms of one's society, culture, or even one's own individual values."
Based on Quintelier & Fessler (2012) findings, cultural relativism is considered as an interpretation that all views, customs, and ethics are comparative to the individual within his or her own societal
There are some common use ethical theories; deontology, utilitarian, and virtue ethics. Deontology refers to the important aspects of man lives are control by indestructible moral values and ethical standards regardless if by overruling it improve outcome. In other words, they may do the right thing, even though the consequences of that action may not be good. Utilitarian
The virtue ethics approach is a theory that suggests that people are judged via their character, not specific actions. An individual who has developed good character traits (virtues) is judged as a morally good person. An individual who has developed bad character traits (vices) is judged as a morally bad person. Most of us have a mixture or virtues and vices. There are many pros and cons linked to this approach. The pros include
Relativism argues that there’s no absolute truth. It suggest that the concept of right and wrong in any given human behavior can
One philosopher wrote, "Like the wheel, business is one of the great human inventions. But unlike the wheel, the existence of business depends upon a social context, on unwritten rules and conventions…there is no more chance that we could return to an idyllic state before business existed than we could uninvent the wheel" (Klempner, n.d.). Just as the wheel has been redeveloped time and time again, thus making it better and better, we too must redevelop and enhance our philosophical and ethical decisions in the way we operate businesses in today 's society. Trying to maximize profits in business while catering to growing societal demands, proves to be quite complicated and challenging. Society and business owners alike are continually struggling to find that happy medium. Comparing and contrasting the many moral philosophies and belief systems, combined with trial and error is one way society as a whole can create a system that hopefully one day works for us all.
1. Cultural relativism gives one a license to believe what they desire. They find a culture that suits their desires. Where they can remain unaffected by beliefs of the outside world.
Cultural relativism is looking at beliefs and values of a culture from the view point of the culture itself.
Relativism is the concept which show that there is no absolute truth in morality, only the truth that particular individual or cultures happen to believe. In other words, the definition of moral depends on a person’s culture, society or his or her group of people. If you believe in relativism, then you think different people can have different views about the question: what is moral and immoral? Likewise, everyone have to choose upon his or her ethics because there are no absolutes. There are two types of relativism: cultural relativism and individual relativism. Cultural relativism stated that an action is right if that action consistent with the current, collective, cultural, consensus and the prevailing opinion of society. Cultural is the highest standard, and there is even no such thing is human rights if this theory is right. Cultural relativism is sometimes inappropriate in many aspects of our lives; for example: food, clothes or driving rules are not of the same kind within cultures. Similarly, individual relativism is when one person decides their own ethics; for example : if one person has a father and one day that person hear the new that that person’s dad die, he or she has to come to his or her dad’s funeral because that person think or know that is the right thing to do. Either way, cultural and individual relativism are both considered as moral beings. In general, they have to suffer the same problems. The first one is logical problem.
Moral relativism is a methodological principle of interpretation of the nature of morality underlying ethical theories. It is expressed in the fact that moral concepts and ideas gave extremely relative, changeable and arbitrary. Moral principles, concepts of good and evil are different in different people, social groups, and individuals in a certain way connected with the interests, beliefs, and inclinations of people, limited regarding its value time and place.
To begin with, ethical relativism is the belief that right and wrong vary from one society to another and from one