Virtue Theory, Utilitarianism, And Deontological Ethics Essays

1088 Words Dec 14th, 2015 5 Pages
Virtue theory, Utilitarianism, and deontological ethics are three differing ethic theories. Throughout this essay, we will cover the moral and ethical differences between the three theories. In order to fully understand these differences, this essay will cover the definition of each of the above mentioned ethic theories. In addition, we will take a brief look at an example which supports the difference between the theories.
The first of the three ethical theories covered in this essay is the virtue theory. Virtue theory as defined by is an ethical theory which “judges a person by his character rather than by an action that may deviate from his normal behavior” (Rainbow, 2002). goes on to explain that the virtue theory “Takes the person’s morals, reputation, and motivation into account when rating an unusual and irregular behavior that is considered unethical” (Rainbow, 2002). An individual’s character traits are judged on a scale of good, bad, or a combination of the two. A person is not brought into this world possessing character traits. Character traits are acquired through life experiences and the moral beliefs which are learned from these experiences. Every action an individual performs is judged by the virtue theory to evaluate whether or not the action was ethical or unethical. Even with that said, this theory judges the action less than it judges the character of the individual committing the action. ends its…

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