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One of the most intriguing paradoxes he helped his students investigate was the existence of willpower weakness — doing wrong when you sincerely knew what was right. He appeared to believe otherwise: people only did evil when the perceived benefits seemed to outweigh the costs at the time. As a result, mastering what he called "the art of measurement," rectifying the errors that skew one's analyses of benefit and cost, is central to the formation of personal ethics. -
“No one commits an evil act knowingly and doing wrong arises
out of ignorance.” -
Plato's main concern is to challenge most people's views on goodness because it is here that they go disastrously wrong in their attempts to live happy lives. Most people consider virtue to be a minor benefit, if not an impediment to living a happy life. -
"It is only by being virtuous that we can hope to be happy."
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Aristotle argued that virtues are good habits that we acquire, which regulate our emotions. Aristotle further argued that most virtues fall at a mean between extreme character traits. Thus, in everything that we do, we must avoid extremes. This principle can also be used in determining and planning for profit in business, for example, too much profit results in greed, no profit results in bankruptcy. -
Aristotle’s “The Golden Mean Principle” states that to be happy, live a life of moderation.
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Hobbes' moral positivism implies a chaotic conclusion if laws are not followed. We all think that the government's role is to protect the rights of its citizens, uphold justice, and enforce the law. Thus, every country must have someone in charge of managing and administering its affairs. -
"People would act on their evil impulses if left alone for themselves; therefore, they should not be trusted to make decisions on their own.
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“Do whatever produces the greatest good for the greatest number.” Utilitarianism is the objection that it assays no good or evil in acts themselves, but only in the good or evil that these acts produce. -
An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation: A mechanism by which one can determine the amount of pleasure versus pain in moral choices.
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Mill proposed that no individual be deprived of his or her right to act in any fashion, even a self-destructive one, provided that his or her action does not impinge physically on others.
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Theory of Justice holds that every individual has an equal right to basic liberties and that they should have the right to opportunities and an equal chance as other individuals of similar ability. -
Rawls insisted human justice must be centred 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.” The second principle consisted of two sub-points: The difference principle and Fair equality of opportunity.