Introduction Key Concepts 2: Knowing

a little Theory: Three Approaches to

Ethics GROUP 1
Basic Types of ethical
Theories
These are systematic ways of thinking about
moral issues. While these are subdivisions
1. Virtue Ethics within these groups, you can think of each as
a cluster of thought or a school of moral
philosophy. Let us take a look at the three

2. Consequentialist Ethics
leading school of thought, variations of which
can be found around the world. As you read
through them, ask yourself which one make
sense to you. Do you have a preference?

3. Principled Ethics Why? Think of a moral problem you have had

and which moral course you decide was right.
Which of these three approaches did you
actually use in making your decision?
Virtue Ethics
- Which focuses upon character, is the most
ancient of these three types. Aristotle is perhaps the
most famous proponent of this way of thinking about
ethical matters. Those who look at ethics through the
lens of character ask, what sort of person should I aim
to be and what do I need to do to fulfill that goal? The
main point of this approach is individual integrity.
Virtue Ethics
Aristotle's virtue ethics is a way of thinking about how to live a good
life. It focuses on building good character through practice and developing
habits that help you make the right choices.

-Key Points
• Focus on character
• Virtues are habits
• Virtues are balanced
• Eudaimonia-means living a full and flourishing life, where you are
happy, healthy, and living in a meaningful way.
• Reason
Virtue Ethics
Examples of virtues: These are good habits you should try to develop,
like courage, honesty, patience, fairness, and kindness.

How to achieve virtue:

• Avoid extremes
• Know your weaknesses
• Find the good

-Even today, Aristotle's idea of virtue ethics helps people understand what
it means to be a good person and how to live a better, more meaningful
life.
Virtue Ethics
In virtue ethics acting true to oneself and fulfilling the goals
of life are what it means to be a full human being. A person who
accepts the virtue approach to ethics is moved to action because
acting as a virtuous person is only the way he can live with
himself. This approach of ethics had fallen into disuse by
philosophers for a century or more, only to be received in the
latter part of the twentieth century by Alasdair Macintyre
(January 12, 1927),who wrote a book called after Virtue: a
Study in Moral Theory (1981). People who are concerned with
Alasdair MacIntyre
After Virtue (1981) by Alasdair
MacIntyre argues that modern society
has lost its understanding of ethics by
focusing too much on abstract rules
and not enough on virtues like honesty
and courage. He believes we should
return to Aristotle’s idea that virtues
are developed through communities
and traditions. The book calls for a
more practical, life-centered approach
to morality, reviving virtue ethics as a
Virtue Ethics
Those who employ the consequentialist basis for morality focus on
psychological traits such as affection, sympathy, a moral sense, intuition,
and so forth. Perhaps the earliest leading philosopher of this approach is
Scotsman David Hume (1711-1776). Since consequentialist are
observing things as they are, they are led to ask the question,"What is the
result of what I did?“ Those who look to results are concerned less with
the kind of a person someone is than with the outcome of the actions the
person takes. In Europe this approach stresses the greatest good for the
greatest number of people-the utilitarian theory( Utilitarianism). The U.S.
from of this school is philosophical pragmatism, an approach that
Virtue Ethics
The third group or school thinks that ethics must be based
on principles that are certain and universal. A principle
approach to ethics relies upon rationality and obligates a person
to live consistently with what reason requires. The German
Immanuel Kant is the leading philosopher here. Those who
base their ethics upon principle and rationality and search for
valid generalization ask, "What does reason morally require me
to do?" "Duty" and "ought" are terms frequently employed in
this ethical system, which seeks universal principles that apply
Each Theory is limited
1. Aristotle and the Greeks had theirs- wisdom, courage, temperance
and justice.
2. Thomas Aquinas and the Cristian had theirs - Faith, hope and
charity.
3. The Chinese produced a slightly different set, and so forth

A virtue is like questions as to which target you should be aiming

at. Virtue ethics has the disadvantage of being culture bound. What it
holds up as virtue turns out often to be a reflection of conventional
morality- what is right is right because society says it is right. This is
not much help in situations in which there is a conflict of values or
where society's morality itself seems to be immoral. Virtue ethics
 Consequentialist Ethics
-Is limited because it severs results from the way in which the
results were obtained. It looks primarily at outcomes, not input. Only
the ends are important, not the means by which they were achieved.
The problem is twofold: first, measuring ethics only by its
consequences overlooks the fact that a bad person may produce
something worthwhile as a by-product of some evil; and second, it
can't distinguish between, say, a student who gets an A honestly and
one who gets it by cheating. Consequentialist ethics can be reduced
to a crude utilitarianism - if it works, its good, and the greatest good
for the number is what is important, no matter how one arrives at
producing that good. It may also suffer from a rough cultural
relativism in which no judgements can be made about other groups.
Watching a lot of war picture, I thought at first the torture was bad but
Consequentialist Ethics
The third ethical school, in which morality is
built upon rational principle, also has its-
limitations. Taken to their logical results, for
they can ignore consequences of our actions.
Consequentialist Ethics
What to consider?

Ethical decisions are complicated because different

people use different ways of thinking about right and
wrong. Philosophers argue over which ethical system is
best, but in reality, people mix different approaches
based on the situation.
Consequentialist Ethics
When facing an ethical issue, several factors must be
considered:

1. Facts (What actually happened?)

2. Interpretation (Why did it happen?)
3. Assumptions (What details are missing?)
4. Values (How important is the issue to you?)
5. Principles (Which moral rule matters more?)
Consequentialist Ethics

People see ethics differently, leading

to disagreements. Life is complex, and
no single rule fits every situation. What
matters is thinking carefully before
making decisions, which makes a
person ethical.
Ethics and Good
Judgement
The real issue in taking up a course in ethics
is not to identify or evaluate one's taste or
inclination or preference in ethical matters.
What is more important is the intention to
develop an ethical approach to living,
whichever method of justification you see. In
this course, we ask ourselves, "How am I going
to live an ethical life?" this goes the heart of
morality.
Ethics and Good
Judgement
Aristotle - ethics is a combination
of action, desire and feeling. This
requires the use of judgement so
that you may apply what you believe
to be right to the situation at hand.
Understanding ethical principles
alone isn't enough.
Ethics and Good
Judgement
David Luban (2009) - explain, moral
decision-making "also requires good
judgement, by which i mean knowing which
actions violate a moral principle and which
do not. " I agree with luban's statement
that, "You can't teach good judgment
through general rules, because you already
need judgement to know how rules apply."
Ethics and Good
Judgement
In ethics, your own actions are one of the subjects
of your own inquiry. If an ethical life matters to you,
you must already be committed to a particular values
and principles. Therefore you inevitably view things
through your own interests and experiences. All of us
are products of biology history, and social institutions,
each of which shapes our understanding and beliefs
regarding what it means to be human. In ethics, reason
can be divorced from the particularity of individual
lives. Ethics is difficult precisely because it is so close
Ethics and Good
Judgement
To make matter worse, morality sometimes claims
too much of us. There is always something more we
could be doing to make the world a better place-more
help to give a friend, another good cause to support.
Sometimes a conflict arises in our values, or a gap
appears between our ideas and our behavior. Knowing
that we have failed to fully live up to an ethical standard
leaves the slit of self-recrimination. By being less than
we think we ought to be - that is, less than perfect- we
feel guilty and maybe even ashamed, emotions, when
unchecked, make living the moral life less likely, not
 Finding A Way to Decide
Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson (Why
Deliberated Democracy? 2004), two political
philosophers, offer am approach to ethical problems
that they call, "Standard of deliberation."

First, every appeal to reason or principles you use

must be one that could be accepted by other reasonable
people. This means that there must be a degree of
consistency, coherence, and logic to what you say.
 Finding A Way to Decide
Second, the fatual claims you make must be testable by
reliable and non-private methods. You cannot say something like,
"you broke my arm," but not let anyone see your arm. You have
to allow your arm to be seen and examined by those who know
what broken arms are. You can't refuse to share information you
have or claim something as fact just because it "feels right or
because "I said so."

Third, all your reasons must be offered in public. You

should not solve ethical problems based on secret information.
This is unfair to others, as it puts them at a disadvantage.
More specifically, here is a series of
steps you can use in making an ethical
decision:

1. What are the facts? Know the facts as best you can. If
your facts are wrong, you are liable to make a bad
choice.

2. 2. What can you guess about the facts you don't

know? Since it is impossible to know all the facts,
make reasonable assumptions about the missing
pieces of information.
More specifically, here is a series of steps
you can use in making an ethical decision:
3. What do the facts mean? Facts by themselves have no
meaning. You need to interpret the information in light of the
values that are important to you.
4. What does the problem look like through the eyes of the
various people involve? The ability to walk in another's shoes is
essential. Understanding the problem through a variety of
perspectives increases the possibility that you will choose wisely.
5. What will happen if you choose one thing rather than another?
All actions have consequences. Make a reasonable guess as to
what will happen if you follow a particular course of action.
Decide whether you think better or harm will come of your
More specifically, here is a series of steps
you can use in making an ethical decision:
6. What do your feelings tell you? Feelings are facts, too your feelings
about ethical issues may give you a clue as to parts of our decision
that your rational mind may overlook.
7. What will you think of yourself if you decide one thing or another?
Some call this your conscience. It is a form of self-appraisal. It helps
you decide whether you are the kind of person you would like to be.
It helps you live with yourself.
8. Can you explain and justify your decision to others? Your behavior
shouldn't be based on a whim. Neither should it be self-centered.
Ethics involves you in the life of the world around you. For this
reason, you must be able to justify your moral decisions in a ways
that seem reasonable to reasonable people. Ethical reasons can't be
 In the early twentieth Century, the great American ethical
philosopher Morris Rafael Cohen (July 25, 1880-January 28, 1959)
wrote in Reason and nature (1959, 2nd edition) that without moral
choice "there is no genuinely human life, but only slavish
adherence to mechanically rigid rules which choke the currents of
ever changing life." The choice, then is between thinking things
out of ourselves, judging and acting on those ethical values-
however uncertain we may be about them- or living like slaves,
afraid of risk, waiting for someone else to tell us what to do. While
we have a moral vocabulary from which to construct our answers,
there is no text, which by itself can tell what is right or wrong for
each and every situation. Knowing this and acting nevertheless is
Thank You!