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551 BCE
Confucius (Reciprocity Ethics)
Reciprocity Ethics is traced down to the very iconic and well-known Golden Rule of Confucianism which is simply to “do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you.” There are many debates over if Confucianism is a religion itself, but it is best understood as an ethical guide to life and living with strong character, especially when dealing with other people. -
428 BCE
Plato (Virtue Ethics)
Virtue ethics is person rather than action-based: it looks at the virtue or moral character of the person carrying out an action, rather than at ethical duties and rules or the consequences of particular actions. Simply, it instead focuses on the development of a truly virtuous character as its central theme to decide goodness and rightness of the actions taken. People are to act as a virtuous person would act in their situation, regardless of the consequences. -
384 BCE
Aristotle (Eudaimonia Ethics)
Like Virtue Ethics, Eudaimonia further focus on the human flourishing and the overall happiness and well-being of an individual. It ties with the Golden Mean, which is the perfect moderation between two extreme ends of deficiency and excess. Aristotle believed that finding that balance ultimately leads to true happiness and complete development of a person. -
341 BCE
Epicurus (Ethical Hedonism)
Hedonism in Ethics is a general term for all theories of conduct in which the criterion for "good" and "right" conduct of an individual is the amount of pleasure gained from the action one kind or another. It treats pleasure and happiness as the most important outcome. To simplify, more pleasure and less pain is ethical, and the opposite is unethical. Technically, hedonistic theories of conduct have been held from the earliest times. -
1275
Thomas Aquinas (Natural Law Ethics)
Thomas Aquinas developed his Natural Law as an absolute theory which states that morals are issued by God to nature. In a more objective explanation, he believed that everyone has been given a "Reason" as the source of moral law which inevitably directs them towards the "Good". Good is the ultimate goal of everyone's actions, and that Good is discoverable within one's nature. This justifies why 'to do good and avoid evil' is the most basic law of ethics. -
Thomas Hobbes (Ethical Egoism)
Sounding similar to Hedonism, Ethical Egoism is the ethical position that states that people ought to act in their own self-interest. The significant difference is that this discourages irresponsible decisions that might bring short-term pleasure at the time but may be detrimental to a person’s long-term outlook. Such actions are not in the person’s self-interest because of the threat those decisions would have on the grander scheme of things. -
Immanuel Kant (Deontological Ethics)
Also referred to as Duty Ethics, Deontological ethics, or simply Deontology, says that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action. This requires us to follow universal rules we give to ourselves, although it must be in accordance with reason and must be logically consistent as not to give rise to contradictions. -
Jeremy Bentham (Consequentialism)
Usually seen as the opposite of Kant's Deontology, Consequentialism judges whether or not something is right by what its consequences are. The most common example scenario is most think that lying is wrong but if telling a lie would help save a person’s life, consequentialism states and even encourages that it’s the right thing to do. Most other ethical beliefs intentionally or accidentally stemmed from this one, like Hedonism. -
John Stuart Mill (Utilitarianism)
An advanced version of Consequentialism, Mill further developed Bentham's ideology by coining Utilitarianism, prescribing the right actions are those that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. It aims to produce the most good or happiness and the least bad or unhappiness for most people, as opposed to Hedonism's focus on only one person. -
Joseph Francis Fletcher (Situation Ethics)
Situation Ethics, also called Situational Ethics, in both Ethics and Theology, signifies that the position that moral decision making is contextual or completely dependent on a set of circumstances. Moral judgments must be made, seen and judged within the context of the entirety of a situation and that all aspects of a situation must be viewed as a whole in order to truly understand it. Some things can be justifiable in certain specific scenarios, especially when in danger or pinch.
