THREE ETHICAL APPROACHES BASED ON VIRTUE, DUTY AND CONSEQUENCE
Three ethical approaches have evolved as the focus of those who study moral philosophy: virtue ethics, duty ethics and consequential ethics. Virtue ethics, associating ethics with personal habits, is associated with Aristotle. Duty ethics is associated with religious beliefs, although Kant tried to create a system of duties independent of belief in God. Consequential ethics is associated with the quest for rationalism during the Enlightenment, and especially with the Utilitarians.
Virtue Ethics
Plato and especially later Aristotle described moral behavior as “what the moral or virtuous person does.” The virtuous person develops a sense of right and wrong. This idea endures.
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Sometimes economists can even show that the consequences are the opposite of those intended. But utilitarians are split over the issue of who is to decide what the greatest good is. Those who seek to use government power to give people what they ought to want whether or not they realize that it is good for them are called managerial liberals. Those who are more interested in addressing what people actually do want – whether or not obtaining this will, objectively speaking, turn out to be good for them – are called subjectivists. Those who believe that businesses should respond without questions to NGOs that are active on behalf of consumers or investors might be described as subjectivists. Those who disagree on the grounds that government should be the ones to decide how businesses respond might be managerial liberals.
Life of Aristotle
Aristotle was born in Stageira, a Greek colony in Macedonia, in 384 BC. Generations of Aristotle's family including his father, Nichomachus, had served as physicians to the Kings of Macedonia. His parents died when he was about ten years old and he was taken in by foster parents: Proxenos and his wife. He moved to Athens at the age of seventeen, and he remained there for some twenty years. This is where he got his first taste of the sciences and actively became a teacher. He studied under Plato, whose influences are most apparent in Aristotle's
People from all walks of life face many ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas have consequences. Our worldview determines how we deal with these dilemmas, and guides us to the right decisions. In this essay, I will examine an ethical issues through my Christian worldview. I will also present other viewpoints, and compare them to mine.
When talking about ethics it is hard to distinguish between ethics and morality. It is also hard to distinguish exactly what realm of ethics contributes to my everyday decisions. Ethics can be defined as “well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues [and] ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards” (Andre, Shanks, & Velasquez, 2010, para. 8-9). According to Psychology Today (2013) morality is, “ethics, evil, greed, sin, and conscience” (para. 1). “Morals can vary from person to person and culture
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,
Aristotle was born in 384 B.C., in Northern Greece. His father was a physician to the king of Macedonia, Amyntas II. Amyntas II was the grandfather of Alexander the Great. When Aristotle was still a boy, both of his parents died; so he was raised by a guardian named Proxenus. At the age of
The two major ethical considerations that are important to address are 9.02 - Use of Assessments and 9.06 - Interpreting Assessment Results. 9.02 - Use of Assessments is particularly important because the psychologist must consider the individual’s language preference and competence. As was noted in the initial case description, Brandon’s parents are both Polish immigrants, and Brandon spoke Polish in home until he attended junior kindergarten. Although he may not have an accent, his language preference should be noted as English may not be the language he is more comfortable using. 9.06 - Interpreting Assessment Results should also be considered. Brandon’s test-taking abilities should be highlighted, as he is suspicious and ambivalent towards the psychological testing. These feelings may negatively affect his test scores, as he may try to either hide how he truly feels, or lie to make himself seem better or worse. It should also be noted that there could be other client characteristics that affect his scores as well, particularly cultural factors.
Virtue ethics is one of the three major approaches in ethics. This approach of ethics emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to other approaches which emphasizes duties or rules. Virtue ethics has three central concepts; virtue, practical wisdom, and eudemonia, however, these are often misunderstood. The three approaches of ethics are virtue ethics, consequentialist ethics, and deontology ethics. Each approach provides a different way to understanding ethics.
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
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to act on behalf of the interests of young children. The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct offers guidelines for responsible behavior and sets forth a common basis for resolving the principal ethical dilemmas encountered in early childhood care and education promoting a commitment to integrity, veracity, fairness, and human dignity at all levels; nevertheless, further research and/or developments may change the current code and state of knowledge. NAEYC have a Statement of Commitment; however, isn’t part of the organization’s Code of Ethics; instead, it is used as a tool, for personal acknowledgement of an individual's willingness to
“Ethics”, in general, is nothing but a principle of conduct. Ethics can also be defined as moral philosophy which is used to answer questions related to morality. The word ‘Ethics’ has been derived from the Greek word ‘Ethos’ which simply meant “the state of being” or “to keep ones soul pure”. The sub divisions of ethics are as follows;
Dear Leo, -I had a conversation with my case manager Ms., Mila from WSIB she told me that I needed to go to a specialty clinic to get a new diagnosis on my soft tissue injuries because you sent her such referral for me nonetheless I was never informed by you nor you discussed such referral with me in my first visit to the physiotherapy clinic where we met and you completed form 8 for WSIB conversely Dr. Daniels as a family physician with high ethical standards with his professional practice got very concerned that I might had internal bleeding when my co-worker took me after picking me from the stairs injured and upon my request he drove me to his walking clinic where my co-worker narrated to Dr. Daniels as a witness my accident Dr. Daniels
Virtue Ethics is neither deontological nor teleological, since it is concerned with neither duty nor consequences, but rather the state of the person acting. Aristotle believed that once you are good, good actions will necessarily follow, and this belief is at the centre of Virtue Ethics. Rather than defining good actions, Virtue Ethics looks at good people and the qualities that make them good. The non-normative theory, although very effective in determining the morality of individuals, is particularly flawed when applied to whole societies. This weakness is largely due to its imprecision and abstraction; however, before these weaknesses can be considered, it is necessary to give an account of the theory itself.
Michael j. Sandel wrote the book Justice to contribute all the forms and and reasonings of the ethical approaches used in todays society. There are six ethical approaches each with a different contribution how to work with everyday scenarios. Utilitarianism, Libertarianism, Locke, Kant, Rawls, and Aristotle; these components are what make up sandels book of questioning what is the rigtht thing to do ... for you? each component will have a main focus and priority into which they serve as an everyday bias. The justice for all is merely the justice of each individual and their own opinions.
Virtue ethics is a theory that focuses on character development and what virtues one should obtain to be who they are supposed to be, as oppose to actions. An example of virtue ethics would be someone who is patient, kind, loving, generous, temperance, courage and flourishing as oppose to a person who lies, cheats, and
The great Greek thinker Aristotle was born in 384 B.C. in Stagirus, a city in ancient Macedonia in northern Greece. At the age of eighteen Aristotle went to Athens to begin his studies at Plato's Academy. He stayed and studied at the Academy for nineteen years and in that time became both a teacher and an independent researcher. After Plato's death in 347 B.C. Aristotle spent twelve years traveling and living in various places around the Aegean Sea. It was during this time that Aristotle was asked by Philip of Macedon to be a private tutor to his son, Alexander. Aristotle privately taught Alexander for three years before he returned to Athens after Philip gained control of the Greek capital. During this period back in Athens Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist who lived from 384-322 B.C who was born in Stagira, Macedonia. His father played a major role in society as a physician in the royal court. Young Aristotle took a liking to Plato and decided to go to his academy at the age of seventeen. For the next twenty years, Aristotle remained there first as a student then as a teacher. After the death of Plato, Aristotle moved to Assos in the Asia Minor where he tutored his friend Hermias who was the ruler there and decided to marry his niece. After his death he then tutored Alexander the Great at the capital of Macedonia known as Pella. Later in his life, Aristotle decided to move back to Athens, Greece to open up his own school known as Lyceum.