Deontology vs. Virtue Ethics
Many of us want to be the best version of ourselves and we strive to achieve this by doing what we believe is right. However, doing the right thing is much harder than what we think. When faced with difficult situations in life, we often find ourselves at war between choosing what we believe is right versus what the society think we should do. We all have different life perspectives, hence what’s right for us may not be right for others. When dealing with ethical dilemma, it’s important to weigh the good and the bad in order to be effective in decision-making. It’s also important to see things from other peoples’ point of view to avoid making assumptions and using unbiased judgment. These things are not easy to do, but they’re the best approach to
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In “Plagiarized Report,” an English teacher learned that one of her top students who’s in his senior of high school submitted a plagiarized report. The student became ill, missed school for several weeks and therefore, committed plagiarism. The report he has turned in reflects 40 % of his final grade which will greatly affect his acceptance to the university he dreams of attending. The teacher will have to decide whether to accept the plagiarized report, or reveal the student’s violation to the school authority. If he decides to report him, it will be on the student’s records and forfeits his chance of getting into a university. On the other hand, the student will move forward to college and will get credit for someone else’s work has she decided to accept the report. Whichever decision the teacher make will produce consequences. This essay will analyze the ethical dilemma “Plagiarized Report” and will use two normative ethical viewpoints virtue ethics and
Every day we are faced with certain situations that challenge us with how to act in an ethical manner. It can be human nature to feel unsure or conflicted with the correct moral choice. Some can say that one should know how to handle such dilemmas and others may say that there should be a reference of some sort to help guide through such conflicts. Sometimes we know the answers and sometimes we are unsure of how to handle certain situations. Most times we go through life wondering what we should do. As I become further educated on the different theories of ethics, I believe there are answers that are available in guiding one through an ethical dilemma and or judgment. I will discuss Vincent Ruggiero’s three basic criteria, Robert Kegan’s order of consciousness, the three schools of ethics and the correlation between all three.
Deontological ethics has as its basic thrust, the concept of a duty to do what is right. For one’s actions to be in accordance with DE, those actions must be realized out of a “notion of right (that) is not derived from a prior notion of good”, as explained by Illies (Illies, 2011, p. 107). A
People from all walks of life face many ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas have consequences. Our worldview determines how we deal with these dilemmas, and guides us to the right decisions. In this essay, I will examine an ethical issues through my Christian worldview. I will also present other viewpoints, and compare them to mine.
In studying numerous ethical theories, I have found one that, to me, makes the most sense to live by: Pluralistic Deontology. Deontology connects moral rightness and wrongness with duty. In deontology, unlike other ethical theories, the obligation to ones duty is more important than the outcome of the duty. It does not concentrate on consequences nor does it differ in definition or moral obligation on a case by case basis. In deontology, one must only concentrate on what thay have a duty to, and in completing a duty successfully, are considered to have carried out the matter in a morrally right manner.
In life, we face various situations or predicaments where we must ask ourselves, “what should we do? We know the most fundamental way to make a decision is to check whether it conflicts with our own moral belief. From that moral belief, we may do the right thing. However, sometimes doing the right thing may not be the best choice to go about the situation at hand. This is true when it comes to ethics. There are many ethical theories and groups who comprise of different ideals and choice. These ethical theories include natural law, strict Utilitarianism, rules Utilitarianism, social contract theory, virtue ethics and feminist ethics. Divine command theory, ethical egoism, and ethical pluralism. When given a situation, many of the above ethical
In Western beliefs, there are three original ethical theory approaches. Each has the prospect to generate an unlike ending to the similar matter. The first one discussed by our textbook was utilitarianism. This hypothesis is mainly focused on the best potential ending for the majority citizens, or which answer will do the slightest amount of damage. One example the book provided was having to kill a tyrant to defend the life of lots of targets. Another advance provided was the deontology theory. This technique searches for the most ethical solution. So, using the same concern offered for utilitarianism, the result with deontology would be not to kill the tyrant because even his existence is essential. The third approach is called virtue ethics, which is entirely unlike from the earlier two because it focuses on the individual performing the conclusion rather than the penalty. in
Deontological ethical, according to deontologists certain actions are right or wrong in themselves and so there are absolute ethical standards that must be supported. The problems with this position are concerned with how we know which acts are wrong and how we distinguish between a wrong act and an omission. Philosophers such as Nagel argue that there is a fundamental concept of right which makes our actions, while this might be dominated in certain circumstances. There may be an absolute
Virtue ethics combined with deontological ethics, in my opinion, determine good guidelines for human behavior. Virtue ethics is based upon ability to live in community with other human beings. Deontological utilizes rules to define appropriate human behavior.
From this film I learned that taking into consideration your own ethical judgement in your workplace or anywhere for the matter can be a risky decision , but knowing the difference between right and wrong can make all the
Deontology ( or Deontological Ethics) is the ethic theory that decided the morality of one action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules. It is described as “duty” from the word “deon” from Greek (CVP, p.10). Deontology is also contrast from other ethic theory, such as consequentialism or virtue ethics. It judges the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves, as opposed to the rightness or wrongness of the consequences of those actions (Consequentialism) or to the character and habits of the actor (Virtue Ethics). In other words, the inside moral worth of actions is duties, aims and human beings, not the consequences. In order to determine what "right" is its settlement with a moral standard: right takes priority over good. For instance :
Making consistently ethical decisions is difficult. Most decisions have to be made in the context of economic, professional and social pressures, which can sometimes challenge our ethical goals and conceal or confuse the moral issues. In addition, making ethical choices is complex because in many situations there are a multitude of competing interests and values. Other times, crucial facts are unknown or ambiguous. Since many actions are likely to benefit some people at the expense of others, the decision maker must prioritize competing moral claims and must be proficient at predicting the likely consequences of various choices. An ethical person often chooses to do more than the law requires and less than the law allows.
An ethical dilemma is an incident that causes us to question how we should react based on our beliefs. A decision needs to be made between right and wrong. I have experienced many ethical dilemmas in my lifetime, so I know that there is no such thing as an ethical dilemma that only affects one person. I also know that some ethical dilemmas are easier to resolve than others are. The easy ones are the ones in which we can make decisions on the spot. For example, if a cashier gives me too much change, I can immediately make a decision to either return the money or keep it. Based on Kant’s, categorical imperative there are two criteria for determining moral right and wrong. First, there is universalizability, which states, “the person’s
In today's world, individuals can make a single decision that can have a profoundly positive or negative effect on their family, their employer, coworkers, a nation, and even on the entire world. The life we lead reflects the strength of a single trait: our personal character. Personal ethics are different for each person but for the most part, people want to be known as a good person, someone who can be trusted, and he or she are concerned about his or her relationships and personal reputations. As we go through this paper, we will focus on answering what are ethics, what are your ethics, where do your ethics come from, and how do you manifest your ethics?
Standing by moral principles is tough when faced with adversity, but even more so when a conflict causes those moral principles to clash. Situations have many factors to consider when making a moral decision and prioritizing which moral principle is most important to abide by in the given situation. Although this can be tough because competing moral principles can be equally relevant to a situation, I have found that one ethical precept has guided me in making difficult decision. When considering a moral conflict, I have abided by the rule of universality by asking myself “if everyone did it, would it be a good thing?”
In the book entitled Ethical Wisdom, Journalist Mark Matousek captures ideas from cognitive psychology, philosophy, and evolutionary biology to explain why people choose (or not) to do the right thing. Matousek also exposes many of our behaviors, including why we overestimate our goodness and misevaluate the power of situations to bring out our sense of living a moral life, and why we allow ourselves to cheat. Extracting on the latest scientific discoveries and interviews with social scientists, spiritual leaders, ex-cons, and philosophers, Ethical Wisdom is a helpful and important book for readers discovering their own sense of a moral path. After reading Ethical Wisdom readers will have a better mindset on what it means to live a moral life. With the theme of morality, comes a happier and healthier life.