● 17th century British philosopher Thomas Hobbes : believed that most of our actions are prompted by selfish desires, even actions which are considered by all to be selfless, such as donating to charity, through which one could see himself or herself as having power over others who do not have the means to donate. ● 18th century British philosopher Joseph Butler : believed that instinctive selfishness and pleasure controlled a large part of one’s conduct. Butler argued that individuals have within them the capacity to demonstrate benevolence to others, thus giving benevolence inherent value as well as selfishness. ● 18th century British philosopher David Hume : argued that moral assessments involve emotions rather than reason. Hundreds of reasons do not constitute a moral assessment, but an emotional reaction will make a moral announcement. ● 20th century philosophers such as A. J. Ayer : deny that moral assessments are true and honest descriptions. It may appear on the surface that “it is good to donate to charity,” but that in and of itself is not factual about charity. It is more of a personal feeling of approval about donations. ● 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant : states that although emotional factors influence conduct, they should not hold sway over behavior. True moral and ethical action is motivated only by reason, not emotional desires. Normative ethics takes on the practical task of defining ethics. Moral standards regulate right and wrong conduct. The Golden Rule is the first normative ethical standard: “do to others as you want them to do to you.” Theoretically, any action can be put up against this standard to determine right or wrong. Normative ethics strategizes right and wrong, good and bad according to virtue theories, duty theories, and consequentialist theories. Virtue theory philosophers ● Plato’s four virtues, referred to as cardinal virtues, are wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. ● Aristotle believed that virtues are good habits acquired in order to regulate one’s emotions. An individual could develop the habit of courage to overcome the natural feelings of fear when facing danger. Aristotle analyzed 11 different virtues and then argued that most land in the middle of character traits. If Jim does not have courage, he will develop cowardice, which is considered by most to be a vice. However, on the other side, if Jim has an abundance of courage, then he could be overly confident and daring, which will result in making rash choices. ● Medieval theologians adjusted what were considered to be Greek virtues with more Christian ones such as faith, hope, and charity. ● In the 19th century, interest in virtue theory only proceeded through a time period referred to as the middle ages then virtue theory declined and gave place to other moral theories. ● In the mid-20th century, virtue theory continued to receive attention form philosophers believing that the current ethical theories were misguided and inaccurate for an ethical foundation. It came to an abundance of rules and actions versus virtuous character traits. ● Alasdaire MacIntyre rose in 1984 to defend the important role of virtues in moral theories and additionally noted they are grounded in social traditions.
● 17th century German philosopher Samuel Pufendorf championed duties to God, to oneself, and to others. Two duties toward God were to understand the existence and nature of God and the practical duty to worship God. He further stated that the duties toward oneself include duties to the soul—to develop one’s skills and talents—and duties of the body—to not harm one’s body. ● 17th century British philosopher John Locke, one of the most influential rights theory philosophers, argued that the laws of nature hold society to account not to harm anyone's life, health, liberty, or possessions, which are natural God-given rights. Declaration of Independence author Thomas Jefferson followed Locke’s philosophy when drafting this greatest of all documents by including these three foundational rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the document. ● Immanuel Kant argued the third duty-based theory that supports the importance of a single principle of duty, that of the categorical imperative, which supersedes the moral duties to oneself and others. A categorical imperative, different from hypothetical imperatives, hinges on engaging in an action irrespective of one's personal desire. Kant gives at least four versions of the categorical imperative but led with the one that states, “Treat people as an end, and never as a means to an end.” The categorical imperative also regulates the morality of actions that affect us individually, such as suicide. ● British philosopher W. D. Ross argues prima facie duties similar to his 17th and 18th century counterparts because he too believes one’s duties are part of the basic nature of the universe. Considering one’s duties, it is important to understand that situations will arise that require us to choose between two conflicting good and right duties. Ross's list of duties reflects actual moral convictions: ○ Beneficence ○ Fidelity ○ Gratitude ○ Justice ○ Nonmaleficence ○ Reparation ○ Self-improvement ● Jeremy Bentham argued an early well-developed theory of utilitarianism. He said that it is important to tally consequences of each action performed in order to determine whether an action is morally right or wrong. Bentham also argued that individuals must tally both pleasure and pain resulting from actions (Snedegar, n.d.). Applied ethics involves examining specific controversial issues, such as abortion, infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns, homosexuality, capital punishment, or nuclear war.
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