316 Ethics and Social Responsibility
There are many different theories of right and wrong, and these viewpoints have been expressed and discussed for eons. Among these theories are the virtue theory, the theory of utilitarianism, and deontological theory. All of these theories are normative in nature in that they seek to describe what a person should or should not do to be morally correct. Though they have that in common, they also have distinct differences in ideology that separate them from one another regarding virtue, values, and moral concepts. Virtue theory was discussed at length by Aristotle as he formulated what he considered to be the four main virtues: justice, courage, temperance, and wisdom (Weineck). The most significant factor about virtue theory is that it focuses on how one should be rather than on what one should do (Weineck). It further focuses on what we should strive to become morally not on individual actions or outcomes (Weineck). According to Weineck, "Virtue ethics can be seen as an ethics of personal development." Weineck further stated that, "an individual's inclinations and desires are relevant to morality" and that a person's virtue can improve over time". Specifically, "virtue theory focuses more on the individual, and their characteristics, as opposed to just looking at an action that has been carried out", according to Weineck. Thus, the emphasis is on the individual's moral fiber rather than on actions or outcomes. Utilitarianism,
· A personal experience to explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three theories
Virtue ethics is a very different approach to the others and central to Aristotle's work. It does not primarily concentrate on the right action as such; the right action according to virtue ethicists is the one that the virtuous agent would do. Virtue ethics takes the central feature of morality to be the virtuous character, and the account of what the virtues are as the basis of the theory.
Aristotle outlined his theory of Virtue Ethics in his book Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle focused his idea of ethics on agents rather than acts. His main idea is focused on the idea of human character- how can you be a better person? In fact, Aristotle once said: “For we are enquiring not in order to know what virtue is, but in order to become good, since otherwise our enquiry would be of no use.” Aristotle is given the credit for developing the idea of virtue ethics, but many of Plato's cardinal values influenced his ideas. Virtue Ethics is focused on the person's actions, not the consequences of that action. Aristotle believed if you had good moral values, then your actions would be "good" in theory. Rather than defining good actions,
Virtue Theory is one of many different moral theories that exist today. It is based off of Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics which focuses on having an ideal character. The main focus of Virtue Theory is the role of one’s character, which is closely related to its roots in Aristotle. A Virtue Theorist would do things because it is who they themselves are, not because it is good to do them or because they will get something good from doing them.
"(i) Duty Based Theories (or Deontological Theories): Theories that claim that what determines whether an act is morally right or wrong is the kind of act it is."(1)
Virtue ethics is a theory of ethics in moral philosophy in which it emphasizes that the notion of virtue is key to a
In Normative Ethics there are three distinct schools of thought, and each differentiate through moral intentions. Consequentialism relies on the consequences of an action in order to distinguish whether or not something is morally acceptable. Deontology considers the morality of an action by one’s reason for doing a certain deed. Lastly, virtue ethics bases morality off of virtuous character, and how a virtuous person would act given a certain predicament. Ultimately, consequentialism provides the most practical explanation for morality due to the notion of providing the best possible result. Contrarily, deontology and virtue ethics do not always provide an individual with the most sensible course of action, and therefore prove to be
The Virtue Theory, also know as Virtue Ethics, refers to the character of each person. This theory states that every person should try for excellence. The characteristics of each individual are made up from their environment that they are a part of. The theory would further suggest
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.
According to theory of utilitarianism an action is ethically right if its lead to happiness, and wrong if it ends in unhappiness. The general concept behind Virtue Ethics is that it emphasizes on what the individual should select fortheir own personal behavior instead of the individual depending solely on theexternal laws and customs of the person's culture. Deontological thinking isconstructed on the fact that we have a duty to do certain things and to not do certainthings. Deontologists do not look at how much good might be caused by an action.They look at the action itself, deciding whether it is prohibited or made obligatoryby one of their rules.
Aristotle’s idea of Virtue Ethics was influenced by his belief that all things and all humans have a purpose (a telos). For him a complete explanation of something has to include its final cause or purpose which essentially is to realise its potential. Virtue Ethics itself is concerned with the characteristics of a person rather than how a person behaves and it is this he outlined in his book Nicomachean Ethics. A ‘’virtue’’ are qualities that lead to a good life e.g. courage and honesty. Aristotle explains for a person to adopt these qualities into their own lives is to maximise their potential to achieve a happy life and he goes
Two theories into ethics and how actions can be justified are known as deontological and utilitarian (also consequential) approaches. These two theories look at situations from different perspectives.
Virtue ethics concerned with the character of the person, instead of their action. Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas were supporters of this theory. This theory focuses on individual 's disposition as the key factor of ethical reasoning instead of the principles
The deontology theory and the branches of Utilitarianism theory both classify human actions of which are morally right and wrong. These theories can be used
What is Aristotle’s virtue ethics theory exactly? Aristotle was one of the first to describe this type of theory and he based it largely on Eudaimonism. “Eudaimonism bases virtues in human flourishing, where flourishing is equated with performing one’s distinctive function well” (Virtue Ethics). For humans, Aristotle believed that our main function is reasoning and to “live well” we would need to reason well. The largest part of virtue ethics is the titular “virtues” that decide whether or not a person was truly flourishing or not.