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7 Philosophies Essay

Decent Essays

| 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 …show more content…

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

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