Utilitarianism Vs Care Ethics Essay

As mankind and society have progressed over millennia, individuals have been searching for a true understanding of what is right and wrong as well as a proper way to live an ethical life. Through this curiosity many theories have been developed. However, is there unquestionably one certain theory and set of rules all of humanity should abide by? Though this question may continue to be up for debate, there are undoubtedly some theories that have respectable suggestions that attempt to give an answer. Among those many theories, a few that have developed are the consequentialist’s act utilitarianism, contractarianism, and the feminist’s, care ethics. While act utilitarianism and contractarianism both have useful attributes, care ethics may be …show more content…
However, does a person’s obedience to these contracts determine his or her morality? Perhaps it does determine his or her morality according to contractarianism. Shafer-Landau defines contractarianism as “the view that morality is based on social contract” (193). This whole idea was derived from a political view. Shafer-Landau shortly after discusses contractarianism’s ties to politics saying, “Its view of morality stems directly from the political ideal: actions are morally right just because they are permitted by rules that free, equal, and rational people would agree to live by, on the condition that others obey these rules as well” (194). This explains that when a person abides by these contracts, he or she is doing what is morally right, per contractarianism. Many may worry about prejudices, but John Rawls’s “veil of ignorance” helps eliminate them, taking away everything that makes people different and leaving everyone as equals (Shafer-Landau 199). While contractarianism may be a more blanket theory on how societies are ran and how morality is branched from that, there is another theory that starts on a more personal, emotional