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469 BCE
SOCRATES (469-399 BC)
One of the greatest paradoxes that helped his students explore was whether weakness of will – doing wrong when you genuinely knew what was right – truly existed. He seemed to think, people only did wrong when at the moment the perceived benefits seemed to outweigh the costs. Hence, the development of personal ethics is mastering what he called “the art of measurement,” correcting the distortions that skew one’s analyses of benefit and cost. -
428 BCE
PLATO (428-348 BC)
Plato ranks among the greatest philosophers of the world and is viewed by many scholars as the most important Philosopher of Western civilization. Plato held that moral values are objective in the sense that they exist in a spirit-like realm beyond subjective human conventions. He held that they are absolute, or eternal, in that they never change, and also that they are universal insofar as they apply to all rational creatures around the world and throughout time. (Racelis, 2017) -
384 BCE
ARISTOTLE (384-322 BC)
The ethics of Aristotle is concerned with action, not as
being right in itself irrespective of any other consideration, but
with actions conducive to man’s good. Aristotle sets himself
to discover what this good is and what the science
corresponding to it is. (Copleston, 1993). Aristotle argued that virtues are good habits that we acquire, which regulate our
emotions. Aristotle’s “The Golden Mean Principle” states that to be happy, live a life of moderation. -
THOMAS HOBBES (1588-1679)
He believes that human beings are basically selfish creatures who would do anything to improve their position. Thomas Hobbes main grounding in philosophy was on the basis of materialism, believing that everything that happens is a result of the physical world and that the soul does not exist. Hobbes' contention was that the concept of good and evil are related to human desire and aversion. This philosophy of values is due to an attitude of self preservation and protection. -
JEREMY BENTHAM (1749-1832)
Jeremy Bentham is primarily known today for his moral philosophy, especially his principle of utilitarianism, which evaluates actions based upon their consequences. Overall happiness created for everyone affected by the action. He held a hedonistic account of both motivation and value according to which what is fundamentally valuable and what ultimately motivates us is pleasure and pain. Happiness, according to Bentham, is thus a matter of experiencing pleasure and lack of pain.
