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Ethics: An Overview

Aristotle’s writings about the essential roles of reason and
nature in ethics and integrated them with medieval
Roman Catholic dogma. In doing so, he helped to usher
in the Enlightenment, revolutionizing Catholic thinking
and doctrine in ways still evident today. Aquinas’s ethical
system (natural law) remained the most influential view
throughout much of the Middle Ages, supported in no
small part by the power of the Church. This domination
continued until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
when philosophers began attempting to restore the pre-
eminence of reason over religious authority, perhaps the
most significant event in the development of ethical
thinking since the time of Plato.
One early leader was the British philosopher John
Locke (1632–1704). Locke stretched natural law’s tenets
to include the assumption that all humans are endowed by
nature (or God) with certain basic human rights. This fact
gives people a clear moral duty to respect the rights of oth-
ers. Thus, violating the rights of others becomes the only
real moral wrong, and all actions that do not violate the
rights of other persons must be ethically permissible.
Among the most ardent supporters of Locke’s natural
rights system were the founders of the United States, who
viewed his principles and assumptions as the moral
bedrock of their new republic. These principles, evident
Socrates (c. 470–399 B.C.E.). Along with Greek philosophers
Plato and Aristotle, Socrates was a poineer in virtue-ethical throughout the Declaration of Independence and Consti-
tution, remain at the heart of the American legal system.
thinking. © GIANNI DAGLI ORTI/CORBIS
The second family of ethical systems is made up of
deontology theories. These approaches share the view that
ethics theories, founded on the teachings of the three great ethics should be based primarily on moral duty. This
lights of ancient Greek philosophy—Socrates (c. 469–399 approach is probably best exemplified by the writings of
B.C.E.), Plato (427?–347? B.C.E.), and Aristotle (384–322 the great German philosopher and writer Immanuel Kant
B.C.E.). Most attempts to chronicle Western ethical think- (1724–1804). Kant maintained that at the heart of ethics
ing begin with these three men because of their emphasis lies the moral duty to obey the dictates of reason. People
on reason and logic as essential tools for finding answers can know what reason commands through intuition and
to ethical questions. This assumption has been the corner- moral reason. Kant’s central ethical principle is the cate-
stone of philosophical thinking ever since. The central gorical imperative, which says that the only moral actions
focus in virtue-ethics is personal character. The ancient are those consistent with the moral standards that we
Greeks believed it was a mandate from nature itself that would want everyone else to follow. For example, Kant
the purpose of life for humans was to achieve happiness argued that lying is always wrong, since no rational person
and fulfillment. The goal of ancient Greek ethics, then, would want lying to become the moral standard for every-
was the search for “the good life,” the pattern of specific one. (Kant recognized no exceptions, arguing that even
character traits (virtues) that people should integrate into lying to save a life was immoral.) A corollary to this prin-
their lives to make happiness and fulfillment most likely. ciple is Kant’s respect for persons, the maxim that it is
Plato and Aristotle wrote that the virtues of wisdom, always wrong to exploit others. People, he argued, must be
courage, temperance, and justice were the most logical treated as ends (goals) in themselves, not merely as means
choices to help people achieve this goal. to our own ends.
One evidence of the profound influence of these The third major family of ethical systems comprises
Greek thinkers is that so many other philosophers have the utilitarian theories. This approach sees the proper goal
adopted and adapted their approach. Cicero (106–43 of ethics as producing good, pleasure, or happiness. Early
B.C.E.), the most well known of the Roman intellectuals, proponents of utilitarianism were the British philosophers
leaned heavily on Aristotle’s principles and concepts. The Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill
Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225?–1274) took (1806–1873). According to utilitarian reasoning, the

260 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION