Group 3

THEORIES OF ETHICS

Vartika Jaiswal Divya Maheshwari

Rahul Dadhich Prashant Pandey
Osheen Agarwal

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 What are ethics?
Ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how
people make decisions and lead their lives.
 Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals
and society and is also described as moral philosophy.
 The term is derived from the Greek word ethos which
can mean custom, habit, character or disposition.
 Ethics covers the following dilemmas:
 how to live a good life
 our rights and responsibilities
 the language of right and wrong
 moral decisions - what is good and bad?

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 DEONTOLOGICAL THEORY OF ETHICS

 The term deontology comes from the Greek word

deon, meaning duty.

 The theory of deontology states we are morally

obligated to act in accordance with a certain set of
principles and rules regardless of outcome.

 Example: It is the belief that killing someone is

wrong, even if it was in self-defense

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 TELEOLOGICAL THEORY OF ETHICS
 A theory of ethics according to which the rightness
of an action is determined by its end.
If the consequence is good, then the action is
considered to be good.

 Example:
I’m stealing to feed my family, which is good, so the
action is good.” In other words, an action’s
“goodness” is based off the outcome.

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 Types of Teleological Ethical Theories

Ethical Egoism: is likely to produce results that maximize the person’s self-
interest as defined by him, even at the expense of others.

Utilitarianism: an action is good if it results in maximum satisfaction for a

large number of people who are likely to get affected by the action.

Eudaimonism: an action is good if it results in the fulfillment of goals along

with the welfare of the human beings.
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 UTILITARIANISM

 Famous Proponents: Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill

 Utilitarians believe that the purpose of morality is to

make life better by increasing the amount of good
things (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world
and decreasing the amount of bad things (such as
pain and unhappiness).

 Example: DARK KNIGHT

By taking one life(joker) batman would save multiple
lives.

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 ACT UTILITARIANISM
• It asks a person to assess the effects of all actions

• Rejects the view that actions can be classified as

right or wrong in themselves

• Example: lying is ethical if it produces more good

than bad

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 RULE UTILITARIANISM

 It asks a person to assess actions according to a set of

rules designed to yield the greatest net benefit to all
affected

 Compares act to rules

 Does not accept an action as right if it maximizes net

benefits only once

 Example: lying is always wrong or “thou shalt not lie”

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 RIGHTS

 Right: a person’s just claim or entitlement

 Focuses on the person’s actions or the actions

of others toward the person
 Legal rights: defined by a system of laws
 Moral rights: based on ethical standards

 Purpose: let a person freely pursue certain

actions without interference from others

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 RIGHTS
 Features
 Respect the rights of others
 Lets people act as equals
 Moral justification of a person’s action

 Examples
 Legal right: right to a fair trial in the United
States
 Moral right: right to due process within an
organization

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 TYPES OF RIGHTS
 Negative rights: do not interfere with
another person’s rights
 Positive rights: A person has a duty to
help others pursue their rights

Negative: do not stop a person from

whistleblowing

Positive:coworker helps another person

blow the whistle on unethical
actions

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 EGOISM
 Famous Proponents: Ayn Rand, Adam Smith
 What makes something good or bad, right or
wrong, is that it satisfies one’s desires, or meets one’s
needs
 Basic Principle: Self-interest of person doing,
considering, or affected by the action
 One should chose the action which most realizes or
conduces to one’s own self-interest
 Important Variation: should the person look simply to
self-interest, or to enlightened or rational self-interest?
 Conception of Rational Self-Interest is basic
component of capitalist economy and business
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models
 TYPES OF EGOISM
 Individual Ethical Egoism
 Judges actions only by their effects on one’s interests
 Usually rejected by moral philosophers as a defensible
basis of ethics

 Universal Ethical Egoism

 Can include the interests of others when assessing
one’s actions
 Still self-centered: pursuing pleasure and
avoiding pain
 “Enlightened self-interest.” Considers the interests of
others because the person wants others to do the
14 same toward him or her
 THANK YOU

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