...Virtue ethics is individual-based rather than action based. It can be defined as theories that highlight the functions of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than performing a duty or an action in order to yield good consequences. In other words, it observes the virtue or moral characteristics of a person performing an action, rather than the ethical rules or consequences or ramification of such actions. In that way, virtue ethics examines the entirety of a person's life, rather than particular actions or episodes. It recommends that one of the best ways to build a good society is to assist its members to be good people, instead of using laws and retributive justice to prevent or discourage bad actions. It is an advantageous theory since human beings are sometimes more interested in evaluating the character of another person than they are in evaluating the’ goodness or badness’ of a particular action; thereby focusing on how to adopt certain...
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...Virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics are all examples of morals and ethics and have their similarities and differences. In this paper the similarities and differences will be explored a personal experience shared. Virtue theory is how a person acts and does not take into consideration particular acts, rules, or consequences, the only consideration is if the person is acting morally or unmorally. Virtue theory is composed of three main ideas eudemonism, agent-based theories, and the ethics of care. Eudemonism is based in reasoning, agent-based theories are based in common sense and intuition, and ethics of care is solely based on justice and it should be noted as a primarily feminist idea. Utilitarianism is maximizing pleasure over pain not for only oneself but for the greatest number of people possible. Utilitarianism is often seen in a religious sense and can be attributed to the Christian teaching of Jesus Christ or the Buddhist teaching of the Buddha. Utilitarianism can also be seen as a hedonist as written about by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, since the act does not cause a negative effect for others. Utilitarianism’s main lesson is maximizing pleasure over pain, but can be interpreted in more than one way. Deontological ethics is basically making the correct moral choices; this can be seen through a religious spectrum as following the rules of the (Christian) church and doing the Lord God’s will. The person committing an act may...
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...A drug is defined as “chemicals that can affect bodily functions and/or structures” (217). That doesn’t narrow it down, considering many substances are capable of altering our bodies in one way or another, including but certainly not limited to alcohol and nicotine. While many times opinions clash on what is and isn’t a drug, the true moral issues are the following: Is the nonmedical use of drugs OK? And if so, can the state intervene when it comes to usage? To what degree (218)? As far as ethical theories are concerned, the choice seems clear to one side. Aristotle’s virtue ethics suggest that we ought to condemn drug use because it hinders our development. Kant says that we should never use ourselves as a means to an end, and addiction is...
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...and Accounting Professor Gates February 12, 2013 In this paper, I am going to discuss the philosopher Aristotle. This paper will discuss how Aristotle perspective of distributive justice is applicable to ethics. Also, I will discuss Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics philosophy, why it is valuable and how it potentially connects to accounting and business. There have been many excellent philosophers and thinkers through past time. There are three main ones that I liked and truly had an accountant and business ethics philosophy. They are Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. I decided to choose Aristotle as the greatest of them all on this subject. Aristotle was a student of Plato, and he possessed extraordinarily strong ethics. Aristotle born in northern Greece. He was a notable product of an educational program devised by Plato. He studied at an academy for twenty years. His view on individual human beings is they invariably linked together in a social context. Aristotle disagreed with Plato’s view but defended his own vision of ultimate reality. According to Britannica.com, he was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, one of the greatest intellectual figures of Western history. He had a wide and a vast range of intellectual pieces. He was the founder of formal logic and the most outstanding as a philosopher among many. This paper will discuss how Aristotle philosopher’s perspective of virtue ethics is applicable to ethical practices in business and accounting....
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...but writers from Paper Masters have researched and found that Aristotle takes much of his notion on friendship from politics. Research papers on Aristotle's view of friendship looks at the philosophy of Aristotle and explicates how this philosophy boils down to politics and virtue in a man. Aristotle's treatment of friendship, including his definitions of friendship, is found within his work on ethics, the "Nicomachean Ethics." Friendship is included within his discussion of his general ethical theory. Aristotle bases his ethical theory on two constructs: Politics Virtue In most of the "Nicomachean Ethics," Aristotle discusses these two major subjects as separate subjects; or when they are discussed in relation to each other, they are discussed mostly with respect to what proportion of each is found in political activities or the conditions or state of a person's life. For instance, the more political an action is, the less virtuous it may be. And the more virtuous is an individual, the less he may be involved in the practical ends of politics. As mentioned earlier, friendship is a blending of politics and virtue; it can be looked at as an ideal blending. The Philosophy of Friendship According to Aristotle Friendship is included as a subject in term papers about Aristotle as a part of his general ethical theory because friendship has to do with the good which is the fundamental of the general ethical theory. As Aristotle begins the "Nicomachean Ethics," "Every art and...
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...Ethics Essay Ethics, according to dictionary.com, is the branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. Or as the textbook states, ethics is the science concerning the “right and wrong” of human action. This paper will be discussing the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. There will be a description of the differences in how each theory addresses ethics and morality. It will contain a personal experience to help explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three theories. The three main views of the normative ethics theory is virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism. Virtue ethics focuses on the virtues, or moral character, while deontological focuses on duties and rules, and utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of ones actions. Virtue ethics is called agent based or character ethics, as well. According to the textbook, when using the virtue ethics approach, one should take the viewpoint that in living their life they should try to cultivate excellence in all that they do (Boylan, 2009). Virtue ethics suggests that people should develop their character so that they will lead a good life. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism. This means that the moral worth of an action is determined...
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...Ethic Essay Virtue ethics is a choice of what the outcome will become. It would be the best choice for yourself even it would break a law or rule. It's what you believe in; that will benefit you after you realize it will cause you dearly also. It will also boost your morality. It's like breaking to a nightclub without paying the entrance fee and never got caught. For this situation, you can able to save the money and spend it on drinks instead of paying to enter only. Utilitarianism is a part of virtue ethics, and this could be a non-moral situation. It avoids suffering in which rightful or wrongful will be a result of some consequences. This ethics is for the greatness of numbers. It more relates to a religious-like Christianity. They decide to believe in happiness even it's against the religious law, and the consequences are not healthy. An example is to lie at to anyone to have happiness in life or for a better life. In medicine, it has its cure but will have its side effect. The cure is more important for most people than thinking about the side effect of the medicine. Deontological ethics is against utilitarianism. It's all about the rule in either they suffer or not the needs to follow. Following your duties is the correct moral rule. If you don't do your duty, you will be immorally behaving. Society and religion make their rules that need to be followed even it will have suffered. Some examples are food; we have to kill a living thing to live. These living things are...
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...Ethics comparison essay Michael Njus ETH316 June 23, 2014 Aubrey Weekes Ethics comparison essay INTRODUCTION This paper will take a look at three different theories of ethics. The three theories are deontological, utilitarianism and virtue theory. The basics of ethics theories are similar in the fact that they are all a set of rules that govern what is deemed to be right or wrong, the following will define each and attempt to point out some differences in the theories. Deontological ethics, are ethical theories that place special emphasis on the relationship between duty and the morality of human actions. Deontology (Greek deon, “duty,” and logos, “science”) consequently focuses on logic and ethics (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014) Utilitarianism is a doctrine that the useful is the good and that the determining consideration of right conduct should be the usefulness of its consequences; specifically: a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain or the greatest happiness of the greatest number. (Merriam Webster, 2014) Virtue ethics is a broad term for theories that emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing one’s duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences. (Athanassoulis, 2014) While the aim of all three theories is that we should strive to do what is right, the length that we should go to and who they would affect is the main difference in the three. The main difference...
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...Ethics Essay Jermaine Ford ETH/316 June 12, 2016 Dr. Stephanie Hancock Ethics Essay Everyday people deal with difficult situations. For years Ethical theories have been the main point in creating solutions to these problems. Ethical theory has to do with how people react to situations as well as how they react in with dealing with others. The main idea of this paper will be to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between deontological ethics, utilitarianism, and virtue theory. A description of the differences in how each theory addresses ethics and morality as well as a personal experience to explain the relationship between moral concepts, values, and virtue will included as well (Manias, Monroe, & Till, 2013). The virtue theory deals with character traits as the most important part. Moral character is most emphasized element in ethical thinking. This is placed above ones actions in order to bring good consequences to the situation. Virtue theory also has to do with integrity to the highest order over the behavior and decisions (“Ethical Theories Compared”, 2001). Virtuous people are kind above all else. They are kind because of their character and do not concern themselves with receiving favors or thinking about how the situation can benefit them. Theories of virtue do not identify characteristics principles that can use in any moral situation (“Ethical Theories Compared”, 2001). Morality has to do with your actions when other people are directly...
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...People often ask questions like, “what should I do?” or “How should I act?” However, the fundamental questions that define ethics allow individuals to evaluate the moral principles behind the rationalization of their actions. Three forms of ethics come to mind and they are virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. Each has differences, which distinguish one from the other, a point this paper will advocate to readers. In addition, this paper explains and addresses each theory in conjunction to ethics and morality, in addition to the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to each theory. Virtue Theory One of the principles reading into the virtue theory is excellence. Virtue theorizes that when living life, it aims to excelling in everything an individual does. When judging based on this theory, an individual bases their judgment on the exceedingly excellence of others actions. Boylan, 2009 states, “It takes the viewpoint that living your life you should try to cultivate excellence in all that you do and all that others do” (p. 133). In other words, virtue ethics aligns to the absolute good and emphasizes rationalization on the results of their actions that is likely to bring absolute good (Boylan, 2009, p. 62). A virtue theorist may ask what traits and dispositions enable them to act in a way that develops this potential. The answer is attitudes and dispositions that define an individual’s character that consist of traits...
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...Joseph Krois Philosophy paper 1 PHIL 1110 Ethics Instructor Bearden A case for Virtue Ethics In this paper I will write about virtue ethics, a normative moral theory that emphasizes moral virtues, or character in contrast to following rules or duties (deontology) or that emphasizes the consequences of actions (consequentialiasm). Plato, and perhaps more famously, Aristotle laid out the teachings and characteristics of virtue ethics which was the preeminent school of thought in western philosophy until the enlightenment. After a brief period of relative obscurity virtue ethics reemerged in the late 1950's as the dominant form of moral philosophy in Anglo-American culture. The defining characteristics of virtue ethics over other normative theories is the concepts of practical wisdom, virtuous character traits, and eudamonia which roughly translates to 'flourishing' or 'well being'(Vaughn pg 134). In essence virtue ethics asks the question, 'who should I be?' rather than 'what should I do?'. Because our actions cannot be determined by one set of overarching rules, nor can the outcome of action and therefore its goodness truly be predicted prior to the commitance of the action, it is my belief that virtue ethics is the most practical, and therefore useful theory of moral philosophy. How virtue ethics help us determine right and wrong action is through the development of good character traits, such as honesty, empathy, kindess etc...
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...Ethics is a set of moral principles; a theory or system of moral values. Normative ethics is an ethical system with standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. This ethical system can be broken down into three categories: virtue ethics, utilitarian ethics, and deontological ethics. Normative ethics' golden rule is to do unto others what we want others to do to us. This establishes a single principle against which we judge all actions. The study and application of ethics has created a variety of approaches to the basic questions of what should I do?, what do i value?, and why do I value that? The purpose of this paper is to discuss the similarities and differences between virtue ethics, utilitarian ethics, and deontological ethics both morally and ethically. Virtue ethics is the character of a moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior. For example, a person using the virtue approach would focus less on lying in a particular situation and instead consider the decision to tell a lie or not to tell a lie. Virtue ethics places less emphasis on learning rules, and instead stresses the importance of developing good habits of character. Utilitarian ethics is a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain or the greatest happiness of the greatest number. For example, a utilitarian approach implies that no moral act like stealing, or a rule like keeping your promise, is in intrinsically right or wrong. The rightness or wrongness...
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...Ethics ETH/316 University of Phoenix December 1, 2011 Ethics Ethical development is an important tool needed in today’s society. In this paper, the topic will discuss the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. In addition this papers topic will address how each theory addresses ethics and morality in relation to the authors’ personal experiences with virtue, values, and moral concepts. Similarities and Differences in Ethics Theories To understand the similarities between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics the first order is to define the meaning of each. According to Boylan (2009), virtue theory has a definition of cultivating excellence in life and constituting an aspect of the “good person” (Boylan, 2009). Utilitarianism according to Boylan (2009),” is a theory that suggests that an action is morally right when that action produces more total utility for the group than any other alternative” (p. 153). Deontological ethics have a definition as an analysis of reason, this analysis position decisions based for the morally justified good. The similarities between the three theories represent the good in people and how they strive for excellence and justified good. The differences in the three theories begin with the ethics and morality. Virtue theory describes a person’s character, cultivating “excellence in all we do” (Boylan, 2009, p. 43). Striving for excellence can be challenging at times by...
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...Ethics Essay ETH/316 Kevin Forsberg Ethics Essay Ethics are a set of moral principles that guide a person’s behavior and are shaped by social norms, cultural practices and one’s religious upbringing. Ethics are beliefs that help direct people to know what is right and wrong, good or bad in terms of human behavior. There are many different theories that involve ethics such as virtue theory, utilitarianism and deontological. These theories have many similarities as well as differences. Virtue Theory Virtue is character traits that make up a moral life such as honesty, compassion, courage, unselfishness, integrity and generosity. According to Plato’s writings, the four ultimate virtues are justice, wisdom, courage and temperance. (Monroe & Till, 2013). The virtue theory judges a person by their character. It takes into consideration their morals and reputation. For example when writing a paper and a passage in the paper is plagiarized. If an instructor personally knows the student and their character, which is someone who normally follows the rules and is in good standing with the university, the instructor may be more willing to question the student as to what happened rather than give an automatic bad grade. However if the student is one who has been on academic probation before or is not in good standing with the university, the instructor may give the grade automatically. This example also shows the weakness...
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...Ethics Ethical development is an important tool needed in today’s society. In this paper, the topic will discuss the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. In addition this papers topic will address how each theory addresses ethics and morality in relation to the authors’ personal experiences with virtue, values, and moral concepts. Similarities and Differences in Ethics Theories To understand the similarities between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics the first order is to define the meaning of each. According to Boylan (2009), virtue theory has a definition of cultivating excellence in life and constituting an aspect of the “good person” (Boylan, 2009). Utilitarianism according to Boylan (2009),” is a theory that suggests that an action is morally right when that action produces more total utility for the group than any other alternative” (p. 153). Deontological ethics have a definition as an analysis of reason, this analysis position decisions based for the morally justified good. The similarities between the three theories represent the good in people and how they strive for excellence and justified good. The differences in the three theories begin with the ethics and morality. Virtue theory describes a person’s character, cultivating “excellence in all we do” (Boylan, 2009, p. 43). Striving for excellence can be challenging at times by deciding what is the most choice worthy decision in life. Utilitarianism...
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