Utilitarian Vs Deontological Research

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” These words from Aristotle summarize his virtue ethics theory, one of western philosophy’s three major theories regarding the ultimate standards of moral evaluation. Virtue ethics is sometimes seen as a bridge between the other two prominent moral theories, utilitarianism and deontology. Through readings, research, and in class discussion, I have concluded that virtue ethics is not really a middle ground between utilitarian and deontological moral theories. These three theories represent individual theories entirely. While all three theories do differ, Aristotle's view is much better than those of Kant and Mill. Throughout this paper I will give arguments for why

A happier society is strikingly similar to utilitarianism, the idea of promoting overall happiness. One might also say that focusing on “good habits” would mean that one is using their virtue, and treating others with “intrinsic human rights,” as a deontologist may put it. Thus, virtue ethics would be a middle ground for the two extreme moral theories. The rebuttal to this argument would be that although these theories may have these slim similarities, it does not mean that virtue ethics is the middle ground. These theories focus on three different ideas. Utilitarianism focuses on the consequence (overall happiness) to determine whether an action is immoral, or moral. Deontology focuses in on whether an act is moral (right), or immoral (wrong). Lastly, virtue ethics which focuses on an individual's character. One of the most basic outlines of virtue ethics states that “the emphasis of ethics should be put not on rules,” while deontological ethics, “affirm that ethics is primarily a following of rules or principle of action,” therefore these two theories can’t be grouped together as similar. Utilitarianism focuses on the happiness of the community as a whole, while virtue ethics focuses more on how a virtuous person reaches Eudaimonia (happiness). These two different points of view are

Virtue ethics is a better theory because it is more suitable for complicated, real world situations, while utilitarianism and deontology are not. Virtue ethics takes into account an individual's experiences, and wisdom. It focuses on building a person's character up, rather than just adjusting a person's actions given a situation. With deontological and utilitarian perspectives, you have to choose either choice a or b based on the rules. With virtue ethics, you choose either choice a or b based on what kind of person you are. Following deontology and utilitarianism by their definitions can lead to some morally atrocious acts. For example, let’s say a band of child molesters came to your house and say they know your daughter is home, and they demand you hand her over to them. From a utilitarian perspective, handing your daughter over would cause pain and sadness on your part, however it would create a massive amount of happiness for these child molesters. Giving your daughter would to the child molesters would then produce the greatest amount of happiness, thus following utilitarian perspective. From the deontological viewpoint, you wouldn’t be able to lie to these child molesters and tell them that your daughter wasn’t home, that would be wrong. Therefor, you would have to tell the truth and hand over your daughter, because lying no matter the circumstance,