Comparison of Ethical Theories

Ethical Theories Comparison Chart

	Utilitarianism	Ethical Egoism	Ethics of Care	Kantianism	Prima Facie Duties	Divine Command Theory	Virtue Theory
How is “good” Determined	That everyone should act out the moral good for the good for everyone around.	The individual form maintains that everyone ought to act in my self-interest.	men’s moral attitudes have to do with justice, rights, competition, being independent, and living by rules.	nothing was good in itself except a good will	that all human beings must obey in a general way before any other considerations enter into the picture.	It is morally good if it is commanded by God.	Becoming a certain type of person
Most Noted Philosopher(s)	John Stuart Mill	Henry Sidgwick	Carol Gilligan	Immanuel Kant	Sir William David Ross	John Calvin (2012) Wikipedia	Martinaeau
Major Strengths	1.Enough similar human actions. 2.Benefits every one involved	1.Appears in three forms 2.a philosophical-normative, prescriptive theory	1.Woman should be generous 2.men should live for justice	1.Such truths must be logically consistent, not self-contradictory. 2.  They also must be universalizable.	1.always act in accord to duties 2.always act in a way to achieve rightness over wrongness.	1.judging whether people are moral or immoral. 2.obey a supernatural being	1.Differentiates the difference between consequential and nonconsequential. 2.rule ethics
Major Weaknesses	1.Danger for the social worth of the individual 2.Does a good end justify to attain it, or should we also consider our motives?	1.Only applies to one individual 2.Cannot help humanity	1.Replacing on problematic theory with another. 2.Not talking about gender equality, instead it talks about what jobs should be done by who.	1.emphasized duties over inclination 2. we must act from a sense of duty rather than from our inclinations	1.How do we decide if it is Prima Facie Duties. 2.how do we know what takes precedence over the rest.	1.Atheists couldn’t be moral 2.Agnostics couldn’t be moral	1.Cannot be determined mathmatically 2. do we have a purpose.