moral theories

• Moral theories


  • Explains why a certain action is wrong
  • Tells us that we ought to act in certain ways
  • A theory of how we determine right and wrong conduct
• Moral philosophy


  The branch of learning that deals with the nature of morality and the theories that are used to arrive at decisions about what one ought to do and why
• Importance of moral theories


  • Critically evaluate practices and attitudes
  • Reveal through argument what is wrong with existing social issues
  • Explains how moral concepts actually contribute to our personal experience
  • Bring to light various models and frameworks that govern the outlooks of human beings in different places and times
  • Helps in the cultivation of and enlargement of moral imagination
  • Moral Theorizing is one of the key activities by means of which human beings give expression to their curiosity concerning where and how they fit into the universe
• Virtue ethics by Aristotle


  • The quest to understand and live a life of moral character
  • This character-based approach to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice
  • It defines good actions as ones that display embody virtuous character traits, like courage, loyalty, or wisdom
• Virtue


  • A character trait, such as a habitual action or settled sentiment
  • A positive trait that makes its possessor a good human being
• Virtue (Aristotle)


  A "hexis" ("state" "condition" "disposition")—a tendency or disposition, induced by our habits, to have appropriate feelings
• Arete


  Excellence or virtue
• Phronesis


  Moral or practical wisdom
• Arete


  • The act of living to one's full potential
  • Excellence, fulfillment, or virtue
• Phronesis


  • A type of wisdom or intelligence relevant to practical action
  • Phronesis leads to breakthrough thinking and creativity and enables the individual to discern and make good judgements about what is the right thing to do in a situation
• Eudaimonia


  • The highest human good, the only human good that is desirable for its own sake, as an end in itself, rather than for the sake of something else or as a means toward some other end
  • The condition of human flourishing or of living well
  • The ultimate goal of a human being
• Virtue ethics suggests treating our character as a lifelong project, one that has the capacity to truly change who we are. The goal is not to form virtues that mean we act ethically without thinking, but to form virtues that help us see the world clearly and make better judgments as a result.
• Virtue ethics helps us understand what it means to be a virtuous human being. It gives us a guide for living life without giving us specific rules for resolving ethical dilemmas.