Normative Ethics : A Theory Or System Of Moral Values

When someone is making an ethical decision they are going through a process of making this decision based on their moral principles. Ethics are principles of behaviour that inform people how to act in certain situations are based on one’s environment

When observing the different ethical theories one may believe that although their differences are unique there are similarities in them. One may state that a similarity between utilitarian and deontology is that they both require one to consider their duty something that should be done and considering the character of an individual is if it will be done. If an individual has morals and character he or she may consider it their duty to do what is morally correct.

Ethics can be defined as "the conscious reflection on our moral beliefs with the aim of improving, extending or refining those beliefs in some way." (Dodds, Lecture 2) Kantian moral theory and Utilitarianism are two theories that attempt to answer the ethical nature of human beings. This paper will attempt to explain how and why Kantian moral theory and Utilitarianism differ as well as discuss why I believe Kant's theory provides a more plausible account of ethics.

First, it is important to define ethics and how its components play an extensive role in our society. The term ethics is defined as “Moral principles that govern a person 's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.” (Oxford); ethical decisions are the ones that per se determine whether or not murder is wrong. Likewise, ethics consists of different ramifications and perspectives from many philosophers. Moreover,

What “ought” you do? Such a simple question can and most likely would have several answers depending on who you asked. This simple question can be answered using philosophical ethics but more specifically meta and normative-ethics. Meta-ethics is understanding the nature of our moral thought and/or language whereas normative-ethics is evaluating the competing theories about what grounds morality. Here we will use the following normative and meta-ethics to discover how moral realism, moral anti-realism, and cultural relativism can all change what a person or a society believes they “ought” to do to be morally right.

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

Ethics is the moral criteria that we as human beings have. They are the rules of the game that are supposed to guide us through our decision making in life and how to behave to one another as part of a society. However, there are different perspectives on how this criteria should be used, and when and whom they apply to. I will focus on the three most influential moral theories: virtue ethics, deontology, and utilitarianism. Although there are many great names of philosophers that fall in those theories, I will be discussing Aristotle, Kant, and Mill’s perspective, respectively.

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.

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, ethics is defined as “moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior.” Therefore, in an ideal world, ethics should play the ultimate role when making a decision. If ethics are the principles which guides one’s behavior then, ideally, all decisions should be made entirely based on ethics. Unfortunately, such is not always the case.

Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Utilitarianism states that the consequences of someone’s action are the only standard

Utilitarian theory argues that the goodness or rightness of a behavior lies in the results or consequences of that behavior. If a behavior results in human happiness then it is ethical. Many people

Utilitarianism is from a family of theories mothered by the name consequentialism. They are all joined together by their agreement that the results of any action are what hold the most value in ethics. “According to act utilitarianism, well-being is the only thing that is intrinsically valuable. And faring poorly is the only thing intrinsically bad.” (Shafer-Landau 122). In other words, we must maximize the overall amount of well-being in the world. Thus, acting rightly includes maximizing the amount of happiness and minimizing the amount of suffering around you. Sometimes breaking traditional moral rules are done to achieve such an outcome. Virtue ethics, tracing back from 2,400 years ago from the ancient Greeks, is unlike many moral theories we have studied except that it comes from a family of theories much like utilitarianism. Virtue ethics focuses less on what a person must do in order to be happy, and more on the character of a person. The book states, “We should focus less on matters of moral duty, and concentrate much more on ideals of character.” (Shafer-Landau

Ethics are moral principles that can be used to help guide peoples decisions. We are all different and therefore our beliefs and opinions differ. There are many ethical theories, and according to Panza and Potthast (n.d.) the following are some that are widely used. Virtue ethics is one theory which states that personality is the most important thing. Living an ethical life, acting right, requires that one develops and demonstrates the quality of courage, compassion, wisdom, and temperance. It also requires that greed, jealousy, and selfishness is avoided. Utilitarianism states that the amount of happiness and suffering created by a person’s actions is what matters the most. As a result, acting rightly includes maximizing the amount of

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

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles correlated to human behavior concerning the rightness and wrongness of specific conduct, and to the good and bad that influences and ends those actions (Ditonary.com, 2011). In other words, ethics is the choice people effect in regards to a decision they need to achieve. Without ethics directing the choice an individual makes, moral preferences of what should or should not be done becomes irrelevant. While ethical decisions are made every day there are two different regions in which these choices are made.