Ethics

Ethics Essay

The objective of this paper is to explain different aspects of ethics. It will compare the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. A personal experience will also be explained in relation to virtue, values, and moral concepts as related to virtue theory.

Virtue is another way of saying character. Character goes much deeper than personality. Development of personality is done in public. Development of character is done in private. When personality is gone all that is left is character. Virtue ethics addresses the long term make-up of a person. Over time virtue ethics has been "modernized" to fit the culture. Virtue theory takes into account the rightness or wrongness of actions. The rightness or wrongness can be defined by biblical or non-biblical standards according to society. According to virtue ethics a person is not born with the ability to know right from wrong. Learning right from wrong is a growth process. A person tends to do what he or she believes.

In virtue theory appetites and passions rule an immoral person. A moral person will display the right attitudes and actions. In other words, a person might tell the truth out of a good nature. The opposite would be a person who tells the truth out of fear of being caught in a lie.

Utilitarianism is defined as seeking the good of the whole rather than what is good for the individual. "The greatest good for the greatest number" (Boylan, 2009). This kind of ethics theory is generally the best attitude when working on a team. Utilitarianism as related to ethics is based on the good of the majority. The reason America is set-up as a democracy is to incorporate the beliefs of the majority of the people. Not all people think alike and not all people agree. The idea is that the majority decision is the best decision. The morality of utilitarianism is that it transfers the thinking outside of self. It is very easy to act out on behalf of self. Self-will and self-centeredness are the basic problems with individuals within a society.

Deontological ethics is based on the act itself and not the consequence. A person is obligated to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. A person who does not commit a wrong act out of fear of the consequences is more focused on self-good. A person who does the opposite is focused on societal good. An example, of deontological thinking as it relates to ethics, is the Ten Commandments ( New World Encyclopedia, 2008). It is based on a set of rules to be obeyed, because, it is the right thing to do. Another example, of this would be, when a parent tells a child the phrase, "because, I said so".

My personal experience with virtue ethics is that I did not have much character when I was younger. I based everything on personality and nothing on character. I did not care about anyone but myself.