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Confucius observed the moral decline brought on by the deterioration of Chinese values in the sixth century BC. He felt it was his duty to uphold the morals and compassion of the community. He envisioned a society where the Golden Rule—"What you would not have done to yourself, do not do to others"—serves as the cornerstone of morality.
His ethics of reciprocity were founded on the idea of self-control. A leader must lead by example, maintain humility, and show compassion to his followers. -
He was wise because he recognized his own ignorance, but ignorant because he had any ideas, according to a quote from him. Instead of boasting about his knowledge, he posed queries. The dialectic method is a strategy where a problem is presented and the audience is compelled to reason through it to a logical resolution. Socratic philosophy and logic are foundational to Western thought. -
Like most other ancient philosophers, Plato upholds a virtue-based, eudaemonistic view of ethics. Eudaimonia, or happiness or well-being, is the ultimate goal of moral thought and behavior, and the virtues (aretê: "excellence") are the attitudes and abilities required to achieve it. -
Aristotle used the term "ethics" to refer to a field of knowledge developed by his forebears because he believed that knowledge is acquired through interaction with objects. He made the case that ethics can be found in both conduct and reason and that knowledge is acquired through experience. -
Aquinas holds that we should always act in accordance with our conscience, even if doing so is immoral or has a negative impact. Our consciences are the best indicator of what is morally right because we have no way of knowing if they are wrong. -
He is the most significant advocate of deontological, or duty-based, ethics in philosophical history. According to Kant, the motivation behind an action rather than the result it produces is the only aspect that lends it moral value. -
The founder of modern utilitarianism, which holds that actions are morally right if they tend to promote happiness or pleasure (and morally wrong if they tend to promote unhappiness or pain) among all those affected by them, was philosopher, economist, jurist, and legal reformer Jeremy Bentham. -
According to Stirner, ideologies that go beyond the true self never result in genuine self-interest and genuine freedom. Only after having a distinct understanding of what the self "is" can an ethical egoist act in his or her own best interests. -
Happiness, according to Mill, is defined as the absence of pain and pleasure. Utilitarianism is a theory based on the tenet that "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness." -
Buber's ethical theory of the demarcation line calls for an I-Thou relation whenever possible and settles for a I-It relation when necessary. This line is to be drawn every day between the maximum amount of good that can be done in a concrete situation and the minimum amount of evil that must be done in it. -
Freedom of will, according to Frankl, is the foundation of humanity and the unavoidable first principle. Humans should conduct themselves in a moral and responsible manner toward other people and the demands of life. This internal "oughtness" is comparable to Kant's moral duty. -
According to Rawls, human beings cannot come to a fair and impartial agreement (contract) as true equals who are not influenced by their position in society unless they are protected by a "veil of ignorance." They would be forced to make social justice decisions for their society solely using human reason. -
Kohlberg's theory, which is cognitive in nature, focuses on the thought process involved in determining whether a behavior is right or wrong. Therefore, the theoretical focus is on how one chooses to respond to a moral dilemma rather than what one chooses or does.