Ethics: Theories and Concepts

An example of this is, if Angela, a single mom of three was caught shoplifting medicine for her sick child. How should she be punished? If following the principle of distributive justice, the judge would consider Angela’s position in society; a single mom, low income job, and her sick child. If the judge would rely on retributive justice he would see that she wasn’t forced to steal, she could have enrolled in a state program for such a problem and would be prosecuted. Finally if the judge would have followed compensatory justice, Angela would have to pay the business for what was stolen.

Rights principles and Justice Principles are a set of rules that make up Nonconsequentialist or deontological principles. Generally, a normative stance that views what should be done as determined by fundamental principles that do not derive solely from consequences. An act or rule is right insofar as it satisfies the demands of some overriding (non-consequentialist) principle of moral duty. (Contributing authors & University of Miami school of Medicine, 2005)

The Market System is a method of social coordination(Charles Edward Lindbolm, 1917, p. 19) or sometimes known as capitalism or free enterprise system, is a system based on individual choice and freedom of enterprise while being driven by self interest. (Unknown) A Cost-Benefit Analysis is a process by which business decisions are analyzed.

The theory of Kantianism is the belief that a person is awarded or blamed for their actions based on their intentions and why they did what they did.  In other words, the person’s motives are the major factor in determining whether that action is moral or not. This concept is attributed to Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) Take for instance if James was a manager of a firm and he is holding interview for a new secretary. First he interview Donna, who is very intelligent and has intermediate computer skills. Second he interviews Lydia, who has basic knowledge of computers and doesn’t seem to bight, but is drop dead gorgeous. Lydia would definitely be the type of person that James is attracted to. Obviously if James hires Lydia over Donna his motives demonstrate his personal gain rather than having the Firm’s best interest in mind.

Egalitarian Theory is the belief that people should get the same, or be treated the same, or be treated as equals, in some respect.(Arneson, 2002) A general example is say if the previous Angela, single mom caught for shoplifting the same time Johnny was caught in the same store for stealing DVD’s. Given both cases the Judge sentences them with the same punishment. Either one would be worthier then the other.

Another theory is the Libertarianism Theory, which is the belief of liberty or the political philosophy emphasizing the rights of the individual. The doctrine of libertarianism stresses the right to self-ownership and, by extension, the right to private ownership of material resources and property. Advocates oppose any form of taxation and favor a laissez-faire economic system. (Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008, 2008)

Virtue ethics is currently one of three major approaches in normative ethics. It may, initially, be identified as the one that emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to the approach which emphasizes duties or rules (deontology) or that which emphasizes the consequences of actions (consequentialism). (Hursthouse, 2003) Basically, someone who practices Virtue ethics has no motives of self gain. This theory is attributed to Aristotle and his teacher Plato, but can be tracked back as far as ancient china.

In the world of ethics there are many different concepts and theories. Which one is right? Which one would help us through moral dilemmas? Personally, between the contrasts of the situations someone will confront and the array of ways to handle it, all these theories needs to be taken into account. My position is that every situation calls for a different solution and should be looked from all perspectives possible.

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