Utilitarianism, Deontology, Virtue Ethics
Ethics essay: The similarities and differences between utilitarianism, deontological ethics, and virtue ethics
Utilitarianism is the philosophy that all ethical decisions must strive to do 'the greatest good for the greatest number of people.' In this ethical system, the ethical actor functions as a moral observer, dispassionately making decisions without regard to him or herself or his or her personal investment in the decision. Utilitarianism is a system of consequence-based ethics. It evaluates ethics solely upon the outcomes of decisions, not whether the decisions are keeping with moral laws. Depending on the situation, different ethical actions may be required. "The greatest number" is said to include all who are "affected by the action in question with each to count as one, and no one as more than one" (Kay, 1997, Notes on utilitarianism).
However, an obvious problem with utilitarianism is that defining what the 'greatest good' is in a universal sense can be problematic. Also, actions may have unintended consequences and affect others in unexpected ways. Finally, utilitarianism...
The activities of businesses affect different stakeholders within the communities they operate in. They affect customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, financiers, regulatory authorities, and communities. Accordingly, in their pursuit of economic objectives, business organizations have a responsibility to satisfy the concerns of stakeholders affected by their operations. This is the core of corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR theory asserts that business organizations exist for not only profit motives, but also social
Ethical Perspectives Virtue Ethics Generally, virtue ethics emphasizes the motivation, or reason, for any particular act to determine whether or not it is ethical (Hursthouse, 1999). For example, if a person you know with certainty is totally innocent of a crime for which police are seeking to take him into custody, virtue ethics would permit you to lie to the authorities about his whereabouts and to permit that person to decide what
Hypothetical firm -- Pharmacare -- and address the issues of corporate responsibility and ethics. Background Information on Case New Jersey-based company, Pharmacare (We CARE about YOUR health®) counts among the leading pharmaceutical firms across the globe. It is reputed for being an ethical, well-managed and caring corporation that manufactures superior-quality products aimed at saving the lives of millions and enhancing the QOL (quality of life) of millions of other people. Its offering
People's moral actions and other undertakings are properly understood through various theories that have been postulated. This study focuses on the virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontology theory, which have some commonalities and variations depending on the way they are interpreted and adopted. It is evident that instances of all the theories are evident in the way people act in their day-to-day activities as they try to uphold the desired
The foster parents showed their own moral character as well, by raising the child in a loving and safe environment. End-Based Ethics- Also known as utilitarianism, end-based ethics has one deciding to do whatever provides the greatest good for the greatest number by predicting the consequences of different actions. If utilitarianism holds that the most ethical thing that can happen is the action that maximizes the happiness or good for
Good Life What is Good Life? The Consequentialism Debate Utilitarian reasoning is regarded as "consequentialist." The other approach of human actions' analysis is called "deontologist" reasoning. Utilitarian and deontological reasoning have very little in common. They are similar only in the sense that they both attempt to establish which human actions are appropriate and which ones are not. Apart from that, there is no other similarity. The differences arise in their adopted
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now