Virtue theory, utilitarianism and deontological ethics are branches of normative ethics which are concerned with identifying whether people’s actions are right or wrong. The three theories are similar as they all aim to classify people as ethical or unethical but propose different ways for this classification. Virtue theory judges based on character and not action; Utilitarianism judges based on consequences of actions; and Deontology judges based on adherence to duties while performing actions (Rainbow, 2002).
According to virtue theory, a person has virtues based on which he would be considered moral or amoral. If a person is moral then his actions will be moral as well. Utilitarianism and deontology, however, actions do come into play. For utilitarianism, if an action produces the greatest good for the greatest number then it is the right (Kay, 1997). Deontology, however, judges a person based on the action itself and does not take the consequence into consideration. If the actions are as per defined moral guidelines then it is the right action.
As an example, suppose a moral code in a kingdom states that stealing is wrong. If a person is good and does not want to steal then he is moral as per the virtue theory. If he wants to steal but does not steal since it is wrong then he is still moral as per deontology. And lastly, if a person steals from the evil King and distributes the money among his subjects to help them even though it is wrong then he is moral as per utilitarianism.
On a personal front, I was faced with the dilemma of whether or not to tell a white lie to a friend when she asked me if she was fat. Honesty is a virtue and has high moral value; however, it would have hurt her. Lying, on the other hand, would just be protecting her and thus had moral value too. On comparison, lying seemed to have more value than telling the truth and so that is what I did. As per utilitarianism, it was the moral thing to do.
References
Rainbow, C. (n.d.). Descriptions of Ethical Theories and Principles. Retrieved October 21, 2014, from http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/kabernd/indep/carainbow/theories.htm
Kay, C. (n.d.). Notes on Utilitarianism. Retrieved October 21, 2014, from http://sites.wofford.edu/kaycd/utilitarianism/
