Deontology, Relativism, Virtue Ethics And Business Ethics

This paper is going to discuss Ethics and Ethical Theories. It will include an introduction to ethical theories, virtue ethics, and care ethics. There will be sections discussing absolutism versus relativism, consequentialism versus deontological ethics, and lastly, free will versus determinism. It will also include a discussion about the study of morality and identify which of the approaches (Scientific, Philosophical, or Theological/Religious) are closest to my own personal beliefs. There will be a discussion regarding the three sources of ethics

Loretta Kopelman’s dissertation, Female Genital Circumcision and Conventionalists Ethical Relativism, takes a new approach in a global plight. Kopelman begins her thesis by elaborating on a particular tribe in southern Kenya. She describes how young girls are being mutilated for marriageability. Their fathers, eager for large dowries, perform the ritual on girls as young as nine. While some victims are able to escape and seek sanctuary, this obviously isn’t always possible and thus these girls must live with an inflicted deformity their whole life that doesn’t only cause serious health complications but sometimes even death.

Human beings constantly ask questions regarding the nature of morality. In this process of prescriptive inquiry, they invoke specific ethical theories to explain the concept of right or wrong. The reason is that morality is concerned with the question of good or bad of an action. When determining the morality of actions, there are two principles of ethical philosophies that must be contrasted. These philosophies are teleological and deontological theories of ethics. While teleological ethics concentrates on the consequences of actions to achieve some sort of end, the deontological theories assert that morality is an obligation thus cannot be reduced due to the creation of desirable outcomes. Given these distinctively opposite traits of the two ethics, it is obvious that the methods of approaching moral theories are differs from each other. Kant and Aristotle developed theories that are contradicting to each other, however, both of them gives us a reason to ask questions and seek answers. This essay will be analyzing main ideas of two philosophers and comparing the theories introduced by them.

There is an ethical epidemic that is plaguing this world and it is called Human Trafficking. Human trafficking is a serious crime that violates common human rights by trading humans and forcing them to complete acts of coerced labor, or sex slavery. It is the 2nd largest criminal operation in the world next to the drug cartel and it is done to make money off these innocent lives (Ottisova, 2016). The illegal trade and exploitation of human beings for forced labor, prostitution and reproductive favors is unethical and unacceptable by our society because many United States organizations are starting to work together to stop these intolerable acts to end the suffering and pain.

Virtue ethics is a normative theory whose foundations were laid by Aristotle. This theory approaches normative ethics in substantially different ways than consequentialist and deontological theories. In this essay, I will contrast and compare virtue ethics to utilitarianism, ethical egoism, and Kantianism to demonstrate these differences. There is one fundamental aspect of virtue ethics that sets it apart from the other theories I will discuss. For the sake of brevity and to avoid redundancy, I will address it separately. This is the fundamental difference between acting ethically within utilitarianism, egoism, and Kantianism. And being ethical within virtue ethics. The other theories seek to define the ethics of actions while virtue ethics does not judge actions in any way. The other theories deal with how we should act, while virtue ethics determines how we should be.

Louis Vaughn states that the purpose of morality is not to describe how things are, but to “prescribe how things should be” (2). In Philosophy, moral relativism and moral objectivism are two conflicting but somewhat overlapping school of thought. These beliefs govern the way an individual acts; they also decide the ethical guidelines from which the law is written. In this essay we will delineate the differences between the two sects of belief.

2. Discuss ethics in the context of relativism, psychological egoism, utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics.

Moral and ethics defines the nature of our society and culture today. They are both complimentary in nature but different in some ways. Moral determines person’s character when an individual interacts in social and personal relationship and Ethics are the philosophical study of morality or moral standards. Utilitarian theory, Virtue ethics, and Deontological are some of the examples of major ethical theories that covered in this essay. Collaboration on personal experiences added as well by explaining the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts.

Ethics and virtue have been a very contentious issue facing society for centuries. Many argue over the merits of various theories, each with its own philosophies and assumptions. It is this argument that has given rise to many popular and followed theories of ethics and virtues. The theories discussed primarily in this document include the virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological theory. Each is very distinct to the others in regards to its principles and assumptions regarding human behavior. Each however, has merit in regards to question of ethics and virtue, and how it should subsequently be valued.

Business ethics refers to the consideration of moral decisions and responsibilities in the process of operating a business. Business ethics, practiced throughout the deepest layers of a company, become the heart and soul of the company 's culture and can mean the difference between success and failure. Values drive behavior and therefore need to be consciously stated, but they also need to be affirmed by actions. Ethical business environments are created with foundations of integrity, accountability and commitment.

In South Park, South Park illustrates normative ethics in society and people. The characters and scenarios are well scripted to categorize the three main theories of normative ethics; utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics. The show constantly displays the universal mindsets of multiple people within various situations and how one effects the other and the world. Majority of these scenarios, virtue ethics brings about the best results for those within the South Park community and the main characters. In the following, I will argue why virtue ethics is the most effective theory to always follow of all theories and how always following a utilitarianism and deontology approach can cause conflict within oneself and society.

There are a variety of ethical systems that are in existence. These include systems such as ethical formalism, utilitarianism, natural law, teleological and deontological, and many more and variations of each. The deontological and teleological are among the most interesting perspectives. The deontological ethical system is primarily concerned with the inherent nature of the act being judged while the teleological approach mainly focuses on the outcomes of actions.

Within philosophy, ethics is the division that focuses on morality, which defines behavior as right and wrong. Ethical principles represent standard guidelines for behavior, while also justifying a person’s given course of action. Society defines what moral values and behaviors are held and legislated (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). Further, ethical principles include the concepts of autonomy, freedom, beneficence, fidelity. Autonomy entails a person’s desire to direct themselves, while freedom is the person’s right to do as they please. However, this right is contingent on members of a society agreeing, whether explicitly or not, to abide by behaviors that do not deceive or force others–behaviors that lead to peaceful interpersonal relationships. Beneficence is the person’s motivation to do good, and fidelity is the individual’s

Ethical Relativism What is right and wrong is a widely opinionated discrepancy among the human race. It varies between cultures, societies, religion, traditions, and endless influential factors. Ethical relativism is described by John Ladd as the “doctrine that the moral rightness and wrongness of actions varies from society and that there are no absolute universal moral standards binding on all men at all times. Accordingly, it holds that whether or not it is right for an individual to act in a certain way depends on or is relative to the society to which he belongs”(Pojman, 24).

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a subject of philosophy that engages itself in systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong. It investigates questions of right and wrong and of the best way of living for people. In this essay I am going to explain the differences between the ethical schools of consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics and argue that in my opinion deontology is the most reasonable theory of the three.