ipl-logo

Marcus Aurelius: An Ethical Analysis

1370 Words6 Pages

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that delves into the nature of good, bad, right and wrong. Ethics deal with an individual’s moral principles. An ethical theory helps us in addressing questions like- What is right and what is wrong? Is this good or bad? Ethical theories help us define good, bad, right and wrong. They help us understand why a decision, thing or thought is good, bad, right or wrong. We can approach these ethical theories by trying to understand them and then analysing the extent to which the theory is beneficial, we can approach them by thinking about the cons and loopholes that the theory has. Let’s look at some ethical theories like Utilitarianism, The categorical Imperative, Virtue Ethics, and Ethical Egoism.

Utilitarianism …show more content…

One should think about what kind of person one should want to be and how that person would act in the given situation. According to Aristotle, the greatest good for humans is happiness, and a happy life is a life lived virtuously. As Marcus Aurelius said “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.” (“Marcus Aurelius Quotes”) This quote is basically saying that happiness comes from virtuous thoughts, and that one should only entertain thoughts that would be deemed virtuous by the ideal (truly virtuous) man. Virtue ethics can lead to better people and more happiness in general. If everyone were to start following virtue ethics, crime would be nonexistent, everyone would treat each other with respect and compassion, and the world would be a better place; however, everyone has a different definition of the truly virtuous man. What might be the most virtuous thing to do according to one person might be a crime according to another person. Virtue ethics deals with how a person should act, not how a person’s actions should affect others. This can lead to problems as well. In all, virtue ethics is a strong ethical theory but it’s not

Show More
Related

Virtue In C. S. Lewis Out Of The Silent Planet

1033 Words | 5 Pages

Virtue is not something that occurs by avoiding evil, it comes when you decide to conform to morality and to what is

Read More

Marcus Aurelius Influence On Roman Culture

507 Words | 3 Pages

In Rome, personal virtues contributed towards each individual’s dedication towards their empire. They directly gave the Roman republic the moral strength and ideology to conquer the world. In some ways, the Romans assimilated their beliefs from the Greeks, which they had conquered. In fact they had created such a lasting impression with successful ideology, that George Washington wore a toga, to demonstrate how the old Roman values still had an affect on what was then modern day America. Nearly all of George Washington's actions while leading America took into account the history of Rome.

Read More

Ethical Theories In Health And Social Care

1543 Words | 7 Pages

Ethical theories are ways of telling right from wrong and include guidelines of how to live and act in an ethical way. For example when faced with a difficult situation in your life, you can use ethical theories to assist you in making the right decision. One key theory is consequentialism, which says that an individual’s correct moral response is related to the outcome/ consequence of the act and not its intentions/ motives. Early writers on this theory were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, a modern writer is Peter Singer. For example Brenda Grey has asked for the asthma specialist to visit her weekly, and to decide if this is necessary the professionals involved have to look at how it would affect her wellbeing.

Read More

Evaluating Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

1495 Words | 6 Pages

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he outlines the different scenarios in which one is responsible for her actions.  There is, however, a possible objection which raises the possibility that nobody is responsible for their actions.  Are we responsible for some of our actions after all?   If so, under what circumstances?

Read More

Ethical Appeal In Julius Caesar

818 Words | 4 Pages

In the play "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" by Shakespeare, two individuals named Brutus and Antony give a funeral oration to the people of Rome in concern of the justification of Caesars death. Both of them share an opposite view towards the death of Caesar, Antony thinks his death was unjustified, while Brutus believes in the opposite. Despite the fact that Brutus was able to deliver a better ethical appeal. Antony delivers a more persuasive rhetorical speech since he appeals to the crowd more with his emotional and logical appeal Ethical appeal was used by both individuals in their funeral orations, evidently Brutus was able to execute a better ethical appeal than Antony. Brutus wanted to make the people of Rome feel like the death of Caesar was necessary for the sake of Rome.

Read More

Analysis Of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

1025 Words | 5 Pages

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics begins by exploring ‘the good’. Book I argues that, unlike other goods, “happiness appears to be something complete and self-sufficient, and is, therefore, the end of actions” (10:1097b20-21). In other words, happiness is the ultimate good. But how does one achieve happiness? Aristotle formulates this in the context of work, since for all things, from artists to horses, “the good and the doing it well seem to be in the work” (10:1097b27-28).

Read More

The Role Of Virtue In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

731 Words | 3 Pages

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Book ll, is about his idea of how people should live a virtuous life. Throughout this book, he explains that humans learn virtue from instructions and we learn virtue from practice too. Virtue is something that is very important because it is a moral habit that results in keeping our moral values. Aristotle believed that nobody is born with virtue, everyone has to work at it daily. After reading Nicomachean ethics, Book ll, my main conclusion of it is that us as humans are better off being virtuous than simply doing what we feel like doing at any moment in time.

Read More

Non Relative Approach To Virtue Ethics

1889 Words | 8 Pages

Aristotle’s virtue ethics differs from other moral theories. Unlike deontology and consequentialism, virtue ethics emphasizes and describes moral characters (virtues). In my paper, I am going to explore the objection to virtue ethics from a relativist point of view and the responses to this objection that were presented in Nussbaum’s paper “A non-relative approach to virtue ethics.” Furthermore, I am going to present two out of three relativist objections to her responses that she anticipated, and her responses to them.

Read More

Essay On Divine Command Theory

1218 Words | 5 Pages

The divine command theory, utilitarianism, Kant’s duty defined morality, natural law theory, and Aristotle’s virtue ethics are the five types of ethical theories. The divine command theory states that what is morally right and wrong will be decided by God. Utilitarianism states that “Action “A” is morally right if and only if it produces the greatest amount of overall happiness. Kant’s duty defined morality states that what is important is acting for the sake of producing good consequences, no matter what the act is. Natural law theory states that people should focus on the good and avoid any evil.

Read More

Examples Of Utilitarianism In The Movie The Island

1524 Words | 7 Pages

In today’s world, many people tend to have a set of ethical principles which is one of the guidelines for them to follow on. The question is how he or she defines ethics? To answer, Ethics is best defined as knowing what is right or wrong in the action based on the moral principles. Moreover, it is also known as the branch of knowledge that deals with ethical issues. In relation, there are some ethical theories which deal with the ethical issues.

Read More

Ethics In Health Care Essay

1610 Words | 7 Pages

Ethics can be explained as principles a society develops to guide decisions about what is right and wrong. Ethical principles that society has are influenced by religion, history, and experience of the people in the group. Meaning that ethics is based on guidelines we have learned while growing up, that helps us differentiates what is right and what is wrong. For example, some people think health care should be a human right as others think it should only be available to those who can pay for it. Each group of people is guided by the principles they believe in.

Read More

Ethical Theories Essay

886 Words | 4 Pages

• Ethical Theories An ethical theory is a decision model .These theories depicts the viewpoints from which people seek guidance as they make decisions. Each theory highlights different points, different decision making style or a decision rule. Ethical theories are based on individual’s ethical ideology these theories allow a person to find an answer to an issue, to make a morally right decision or to justify a decision.

Read More

The Difference Between Personal Ethics And Social Ethics

1201 Words | 5 Pages

Generally, ethics is defined as the rule for carrying out certain behaviors by distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable behavior (Resnik, 2015). In other words, ethics assists in determining whether a decision is right or wrong when given a choice. As a matter of course, decision-making is first predisposed by personal ethic that is constructed on personal experience and conscience (Fritzsche & Oz, 2007) . It tends to be affected by family and friends (Ferrell & Gresham, 1985). Not only does personal ethics guide human behavior but also social ethics (Shaw, 2002).

Read More

Examples Of Virtues In Living A Good Life

749 Words | 3 Pages

Essential Virtues: Achieving a Good Life Man has always sought after what he deemed a “good life”. A good life is being able to achieve one’s goals, pursuit of happiness, or when life’s blessings outweigh the burdens. Virtues help guide one to become morally excellent and live a fulfilling life. A virtue can be a behavior, personality trait, or habit that affects one’s emotions, perceptions and choice in life.

Read More

Essay On Ethics In Education

782 Words | 4 Pages

Ethics according to my understanding is that division of philosophy which concerns with the moral principles that guide us in terms of our behaviour and way of doing things. Ethics simply helps a person in distinguishing between the right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust, acceptable and unacceptable. It incorporates the ethical standards or the code of ethics guiding a person into the right path by instilling discipline and other virtues in our life’s daily activities. As professional teachers we endowed with dignity and reputation with high code of conduct while practicing the noble teaching profession which also requires us to follow set of ethical and moral principles, standards and values. Ethics in education concerns with the study of ethical standards or basic principles related rooted in the education system.

Read More

More about Marcus Aurelius: An Ethical Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document