From the earliest philosophies of recorded history, the ethical discipline has studied five fundamental perspectives, or ethical decision-making approaches: Virtue Ethics, Deontological Ethics (duty based), Consequential Ethics, Dialogical Ethics, and the Ethic of Care. Each has a distinctive framework of raising questions of value, but some approaches have overlapping elements, such as the principle of rationality or human relationship. The following compare and contrast two particular ethical approaches: Duty Ethics and Consequential Ethics. Immanuel Kant was the founding deontological (duty-based) ethical theorist. Deontological means the study of duty, and Kant believed in following the same action in any situation, based on rational thought.
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The virtue of a pen is to write, the virtue of a mother is to care for her child, and the highest virtue of a human is the excellence in being most human, according to our Ethics class. In this sense, Virtue ethics is the discipline of discovering and practicing the virtue of self. When asking the question "What do people desire?" the typical answers of wealth, fame, honor, and physical well-being are not finite ends but unceasing desires. The ultimate end (or goal) for a person, Aristotle taught, must be self-sufficient, "that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else." To reach such a fulfillment in life is only capable through effort, reason, and practice. Aristotle emphasized the use of human reasoning through rational contemplation. He taught that we must balance between the fears (limits) and extremes (excesses) in the human condition. Between our fears and exuberances lies a middle ground, the golden mean, called virtue. For example, courage is the virtue located at the mean between cowardice and rashness. As important as it is to recognize this perfect mean, it is crucial to understand practical virtue. While it is the first step to identify a virtue, practical virtues are those established by practice to become a part of a person 's character. As the Bible also teaches, “Faith without works is dead.” This is the element that distinguishes the virtue …show more content…
This is where the ethic of care plays its equal part – I believe the ethic of care stems from the Christian faith. As the Judeo Christian belief obeys the commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27), the act of caring for another is a morally “ought” behavior in this faith. The key here, however, is not in the moral behavior but the natural action that overflows from inner growth. In simpler terms, because I have a personal relationship with Christ and have witnessed an abundance of love, mercy, and grace throughout my life, I am naturally inclined to share and testify this goodness with those around me. As Gilligan and Noddings support, the ethic of care is more personal and emphasizes the exchange of a relationship between two people. My ethical goal is to show an ‘agape’ love, an inherently grown, mature love that overflows unto others out of sacrifice. C.S. Lewis’s writings have made a deep mark on my ethical values, and I believe in the practice of reaching a fully virtuous and fulfilled self by caring and loving for those around me. This is my personal
The virtue of a pen is to write, the virtue of a mother is to care for her child, and the highest virtue of a human is the excellence in being most human, according to our Ethics class. In this sense, Virtue ethics is the discipline of discovering and practicing the virtue of self. When asking the question "What do people desire?" the typical answers of wealth, fame, honor, and physical well-being are not finite ends but unceasing desires. The ultimate end (or goal) for a person, Aristotle taught, must be self-sufficient, "that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else." To reach such a fulfillment in life is only capable through effort, reason, and practice. Aristotle emphasized the use of human reasoning through rational contemplation. He taught that we must balance between the fears (limits) and extremes (excesses) in the human condition. Between our fears and exuberances lies a middle ground, the golden mean, called virtue. For example, courage is the virtue located at the mean between cowardice and rashness. As important as it is to recognize this perfect mean, it is crucial to understand practical virtue. While it is the first step to identify a virtue, practical virtues are those established by practice to become a part of a person 's character. As the Bible also teaches, “Faith without works is dead.” This is the element that distinguishes the virtue …show more content…
This is where the ethic of care plays its equal part – I believe the ethic of care stems from the Christian faith. As the Judeo Christian belief obeys the commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27), the act of caring for another is a morally “ought” behavior in this faith. The key here, however, is not in the moral behavior but the natural action that overflows from inner growth. In simpler terms, because I have a personal relationship with Christ and have witnessed an abundance of love, mercy, and grace throughout my life, I am naturally inclined to share and testify this goodness with those around me. As Gilligan and Noddings support, the ethic of care is more personal and emphasizes the exchange of a relationship between two people. My ethical goal is to show an ‘agape’ love, an inherently grown, mature love that overflows unto others out of sacrifice. C.S. Lewis’s writings have made a deep mark on my ethical values, and I believe in the practice of reaching a fully virtuous and fulfilled self by caring and loving for those around me. This is my personal