The Meaning of Life
Chapter 16 of our textbook focuses on several different ethical theories. Ethics is the branch of philosophy that seeks to determine the ‘best life’ for human beings. There are two popular theories that seem to be at odds:
Utilitarianism (focuses on the consequences of an action, concerned with doing the most good for the most people)
Kantianism or deontology (focuses on intention, is non-consequentialist and follows the categorical imperative).
A third option is virtue ethics. This theory holds that ethics is about ‘being’ and not about ‘doing’. In other words, the focus ought to be on character and virtue.
Sample Answer
Yes, that is a good overview of the three main ethical theories that we discussed in Chapter 16: utilitarianism, Kantianism, and virtue ethics.
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory that holds that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its consequences. The goal of utilitarianism is to maximize the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Kantianism is a deontological theory that holds that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its conformity to moral rules or duties. Kantianism is based on the categorical imperative, which is a moral rule that states that we should act only in ways that we can will to become universal laws.