Consequentialism, Deontology And Virtue Theory

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Recommended: 3 major ethical theories

The main types of ethical theories are consequentialism, deontology and virtue theory. Included in deontology, is rights, which are also appealed by few consequentialists. Detail explanations of these types are as follows.
Consequentialism is a term used by the philosophers to simplify what is right and what is wrong. Consequentialist ethical theory suggests that right and wrong are the consequences of our actions. It is only the consequences that determine whether our actions are right or wrong. Standard consequentialism is a form of consequentialism that is discussed the most. It states that “the morally right action for an agent to perform is the one that has the best consequences or that results in the most good.” It means that an action is morally correct if it has little to no negative consequences, or the one that has the most positive results. A consequentialist will assess both the positive and negative effects of an action before taking it. According to this theory, the best result can be obtained by a reasonable judgement of a person. Utilitarianism is another way of representing consequentialism. Utilitarianism is a theory that suggests that it is morally right when an action brings positive consequences not just to one person, or one community, in that …show more content…

“Virtue ethics” is a term that differentiates a standard ethical theory that is concentrated on virtues from other types of ethical theories like deontology or consequentialism. Characteristics like courage, wisdom, honesty, trustworthiness, compassion, etc. can be classified as virtues. The virtue theory explains that an action can be justified by its virtue, and not by any set of rules or consequences. For example: if a person helps someone in need, then regardless of the consequence of that action (good or bad) or the action itself (how he helped the other person), the action of helping someone else is ethically correct because helping is

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