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Socrates believes that people only did wrong when at the moment, the perceived benefits seemed to outweigh the costs. A person will only commit moral evil if he lacks moral knowledge. Therefore, to develop one's personal ethics, he must correct his views of benefit and cost. "No one commits an evil act knowingly and doing wrong arises out of ignorance". - Socrates -
Plato believes that it is only by being virtuous that we can hope to be happy He believes that moral values are absolute and universal that they never change.Therefore, they apply to all rational creatures around the world and throughout time. He challenges our views about goodness, for it is through this that things go wrong when trying to live a happy life. "Good people don't need laws to tell them to act responsibly, and bad people will always find a way around laws" - Plato -
Aristotle's "The Golden Mean Principle" states that to be happy, live a life of moderation. In everything that we do, we must avoid extremes. His ethics is concerned with actions conducive to man's good. He stated that virtue are good habits that regulate our emotions. Moreover, he stated that most virtues fall at a mean between extreme character traits. "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence". - Aristotle -
Hobbes' moral positivism anticipates the chaotic outcome if laws are not abided. It is a must for every nation to have someone who could manage and administer them. Therefore, the creation of laws and the obedience of its' subjects are important in order to maintain peace. "Government is necessary not because man is naturally bad. But because man is by nature more individualistic than social".
-Thomas Hobbes