Ethics
Introduction
Moral decisions will require moral deliberation and reasoning, which usually take place with particular perspectives, three of which are critically important. These are: virtue ethics, deontology, and utilitarianism. One similarity of these three principles is that they are required for moral decisions making.
Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics majorly focuses of what makes the character traits of individuals (Slote, 2006). It dictates that a person will act in a certain way not because of the consequences that may come later but rather because it is what a virtuous person is expected to do. Here, the person is responsible for the decision-making and the choice that will coincide with the individual’s belief, even if it is against the law. For instance, the laws in USA prohibit stealing, but a father who is languishing in poverty and has a family to feed may steal because it may seem morally acceptable to him.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism, on the other hand, uses the negative or positive approach to the consequences of alternatives and from there a person will choose the one that maximizes his or her happiness. Utilitarianism gives people the much required ethical grounds to reduce suffering, even if it may not seem right to the society. For instance, if you are invited to two events that happen to be on the same date, your decision on whether you are going will be on the basis of which event will make you happier.
Deontology
Deontology is the moral theory that focuses mainly one a person’s duty to do an action in accordance with a moral principle or rule (Smith, Netchaeva, Soderberg, & Okhuysen, 2015). Deontology, unlike other principles, shows the superiority of the code of laws. Even if the consequences of a particular action may bring suffering, the individual will justify himself or herself with the law. For instance, slaughtering animals causes suffering to animals, however, the industry justifies itself by saying that the meat sustains the human population and its legal.
Conclusion
The virtue of ethics is what I do every day, for instance, going to school and making my bed in the morning because these are the laws set in our household. However, on some occasions, I may choose the utilitarianism school of thought and skip school for a day or two and fail to make my bed. Even though these actions are illegal in our household, they personally make me happy. For deontology, I once experienced an officer give a ticket to a senior citizen for parking his vehicle wrongly. The police officer used the deontological school of thought irrespective of the forgetfulness and age of the senior citizen. Clearly, all these ethic principles are with us in our day-to-day activities and we are bound to make rational decisions.
References
Slote, M. (2006). Virtue Ethics, Utilitarianism, and Symmetry. How Should One Live?, 99-110. doi:10.1093/0198752342.003.0006
Smith, I. H., Netchaeva, E., Soderberg, A., & Okhuysen, G. (2015). The Behavioral Ethics of Deontology and Utilitarianism: Are They as Separable as They Seem? Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015(1), 14876-14876. doi:10.5465/ambpp.2015.125
