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Ethics And The Principles Of Ethics

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Ethics have been a part of human beings for over five thousand years yet the development of specific concepts and theories were not realized until around 400 B.C.E. with the ancient Greek philosophers (Argosy University, 2015). Since this time, ethics have been thoroughly examined and developed throughout the course of history; the results of which continue to change and evolve as our understanding of ethics and cultural views evolve. Although we may not always realize it, ethics are something that we all contend with on a daily basis. Just about every choice we face is determined by one’s own personal ethical system and moral values. In order to fully understand the basic reasoning behind the daily choices one makes, it is essential to understand some of the main ethical systems and the various characteristics of each one. Virtue ethics teaches us how to live our lives habitually and naturally through virtuous character traits which are in balance between vices of lack and vices of excess. This balance between lack and excess is known as the Golden Mean and is essential to the core of virtue ethics. One who practices virtue ethics lives their life according to their character traits and moral values and therefore acts intrinsically in all situations. In other words, they do not need to consider how to act; they do so strictly out of habit and with the balance maintained through the Golden Mean. Virtue ethics were mostly derived from the theories of Aristotle.

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