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469 BCE
Socrates
" The Art of measurement" - people only did wrong when at the moment the perceives benefits seemed to out weigh the costs. " No one commits an evil act knowingly and doing wrong arises out of ignorance" - the lack of moral knowledge is wat causes people to do evil. -
428 BCE
Plato
Plato’s main concern is to challenge the views most people have about goodness, for it is here that they go disastrously wrong in trying to live happy lives. Plato believes that it is only through being virtuous that we can hope to be happy. Virtue is not a minor good nor is it an impediment to a happy life. -
384 BCE
Aristotle
He believed that virtues are good habits that we acquire, which regulate our emotions. He further argued that most virtues fall at a mean between extreme character traits. Aristotle developed the " Golden Mean Principle" which states that to be happy, one needs to live a life of moderation. In all that we do, we must not reach the extremes. -
Thomas Hobbes
He believed that human beings re inherently selfish beings who would do anything to improve their position. Hobbes' Moral Positivism anticipates the chaotic outcome if laws are broken. We all believe that the purpose of the government is to protect the rights of its people, preserve justice and enforce laws. -
Jeremy Bentham
Utilitarianism is one of the most powerful and persuasive approaches to normative ethics in the history of philosophy. Though not fully articulated until the 19th century, proto-utilitarian positions can be discerned throughout the history of ethical theory. "Do whatever produces the greatest good to the greatest many" What makes the act right are its consequences and not the motive of the action.
