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469 BCE
Socrates
The ultimate aim of Socrates' philosophical method is always ethical. Socrates believed that if one knows what is good, one will always do what is good. Thus, if one truly understands the meaning of courage, self control or justice, one will act in a courageous, self controlled, and just manner. Also, Socrates believed that philosophy should achieve practical results for the greater well-being of society. He pointed out that human choice was motivated by the desire for happiness. -
Period: 469 BCE to 399 BCE
Socrates
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428 BCE
Plato
Plato viewed moral values as absolute,
or eternal, in that they never change, and also that
they are universal in so far as they apply to all rational
creatures around the world and throughout time. He blended Ethics, Political Philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics and moral psychology into an interconnected and systematic philosophy. In addition to the ideas they contained, many of his writings are also considered superb pieces of literature. -
Period: 428 BCE to 348 BCE
Plato
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384 BCE
Aristotle
The Ethics of Aristotle: Virtue Theory In Ethics, where Aristotle laid out the essence of virtue theory, he stated that if we truly desire people to be ethical, then we must have them practice ethics from an early age. In Ethics, Aristotle introduced the concept of the golden mean of moderation. He believed that every virtue resides somewhere between the vices of defect and excess. That is, one can display either too little or too much of a good thing, or a virtue. -
Period: 384 BCE to 322 BCE
Aristotle
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Immanuel Kant
As an ethical system, deontology is the radical opposite of utilitarianism in that it holds that the consequences of a moral decision are of no matter whatsoever. What is important are the motives as to why one has acted in the way that one has. So an action may have beneficial results, but still be unethical if it has been performed for the wrong reasons. Similarly, an action may have catastrophic consequences, but still be deemed moral if it has been done on the basis of the right will. -
Period: to
Immanuel Kant
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John Rawls
Rawls labeled his ethics to be “justice as fairness” with the publication of his "A Theory of Justice." Human justice must be centered on a firm foundation comprising a first and second principle. The first principle declared that “each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.” In the second principle, Rawls labeled the difference principle and the fair equality of opportunity. -
Period: to
John Rawls
