Ethical Theory

Questions that good ethical theories should answer

How is good/right defined?
What is morally praiseworthy (if anything)?
How can a rational agent determine the right action?
What about FreeWill? For without that all ethical bets are off.

Realism (Hobbes' Leviathan)

Self interest defines what is right, and nothing can be unjust without law imposed by power.
Nothing is morally praiseworthy.
The right action is in accordance with self interest.
Positive aspects: clear cut definition of right and wrong, because power has the final absolute say (law)
Negative aspects: no law can be unjust, there is no worthwhile personal sacrifice
Man's life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"
A realist asks, "What is best for me?"

Virtue Theory (MrAristotle's Nicomechean Ethics)

Good is the ultimate end of all desire and Happiness is the highest good achievable in action. Virtue (functional imperative) is the mean between two opposing vices that causes a person to achieve Happiness (the virtuous mean).
Loving to do the Right thing is morally praiseworthy. Doing Right is a habit that is the content of character.
The right action is the mean between two vices. Aristotle offers these three tips to better achieve Virtue:
1. Steer clear of the more contrary extreme (Cowardice would be a more contrary extreme than Foolhardiness when aiming at Courage).
2. Avoid your personal bias.
3. Beware of pleasure.
Positive Aspects: Clear steps for moving towards virtue (Do Be Do Be Do). Flexible and practical, focuses on activity and not just thought.
Negative Aspects: The mean seems to be relative and dependant on the situation. There is only one way to be correct but an infinity of error. Not systematic and presupposes a bit of virtue, the person must have at least a slight tendency towards the mean for virtue to develop.
A virtuous man asks, "Is this action helping me develop good habits? What kind of person do I want to be in ten years?"

Deontology (Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals)

Right is the correct choice grounded in reason, based on consistent principles. Good is whatever action is right.
Doing the Right thing even when it goes against inclination (self interest); no matter the consequences is morally praiseworthy.
The Right action follows the categorical imperative. The maxim of an action is the rational agent's desired outcome or intended purpose. When that maxim is universally applied it is a violation of a Perfect Duty if it no longer brings about the desired consequences, a violation of an Imperfect Duty if it would be irrational to choose to live in such a perturbed social world.
Positive Aspects: We can't know the consequence perfectly or control them, but we are only held morally accountable for our own actions and not consequences that are beyond our control.
Negative Aspects: What to do about evil people? Not justified in doing wrong to stop evil. Seems to devalue virtuous people because loving to do Right creates a kind of self-interested incentive.
The dutiful man asks, "Does anyone have a right to ask me to act in a certain way?"

Utilitarianism (Mill)

The Greatest Happiness Principle. Good is consequences for society exempt from pain and full of pleasure. Right is the action that brings the greatest happiness.
A man of noble character, sacrificing personal happiness for greater total happiness, is morally praiseworthy.
Determining Utility
- Act Utilitarian -- calculates the amount of happiness for each decision.
- Rule Utilitarian -- Follow general guidlines that have a tendency to make the world happier, but those guidlines can be overridden by the demands of happiness.
Positive aspects: Utility provides a consistent principle for making moral decisions. Flexible, and context dependant. Provides a systematic way for making the best possible world.
Negative aspects: Takes away autonomy and people can't know the consequences with certainty. Treats people as happiness producing machines.
"It is better to be Socrates unsatisfied, than a fool satisfied."
The utilitarian asks, "What will make the world a better place?"

Related to utilitarianism, the pragmatist asks "How does it help me or my friends?".

RawlsMoralPhilosophy?.

WhatIsCopulism ...

this one is worth comment, being home grown on wiki. It suggests ethics is not a matter of classification, but of interaction; the flowering of mutual generosity that itself gave rise to WikiDom invariably defines its own ethics - to whit, GoodWikiCitizenship, which would have been meaningless without the forgoing.

Hobbes is known for his writing about the social contract. He best among ethical theorists describes and comes to grips with the natural state of man. The StateOfNature. A state of war where every man has an equal right to everything and self-interest prevails. Where every action is permissible in achieving personal ends. The causes of the war are simple -- competition, distrust, glory, gain, safety, and reputation. But "There is no security in this earth, only opportunity" (Douglas MacArthur?), so rational man develops an inclination towards peace based on his fear of death, desire for comfort and security in his person and property. This inclination based in rational self-interest leads to the social contract. JohnLocke is most famous in this country for developing this line of political philosophy.

MrAristotle's Happiness must be complete without qualification, self-sufficient, fulfill a special function (for humans it is action governed by reason), and lead to a complete life. Good things hit the target at which they aim. If we have some knowledge of good, we will have some target to aim at, so we can achieve the best way of life. The end of political science (ethics) is action, not knowledge. However, the Ideal Good is not the sort of good a human being can achieve in action or posses.

Kant holds up duty to reason as a higher purpose than happiness. Useful consequences have zero moral value and if we chase happiness we will be dissapointed. In our actions we must never trade a certain evil for a possible good.

Mill's ideal of moral perfection is the well known Christian command to love one's neighbor as oneself. Though everyone has an equal claim to happiness and the means of happiness.