Ethics is all about determining the rightful ways of doing things or behaving. It seeks to answer questions about rightful contact. In attempt to find answers to these concepts a number of concepts have been of great use for instance utilitarianism, rights-based ethics, Kantian ethics, virtue ethics, and common-sense ethical pluralism. Socrates asserts that people naturally tend to do that which is perceived by many as good as long as they know the rightful things to do. He further explains that evil actions are as a result of individual ignorance. To Socrates individual knowledge and awareness are the basic aspects of good. There are basically three theories that are used to explain normative ethics. Normative ethics is an aspect of philosophy that seeks to establish the right way of doing things or how things ought to be done. Normative ethics basically separate right from wrong and good and bad.
There are a set of rules that are created through this perspective which govern human conduct on the basis of determining the norm. Utilitarianism falls under teleological ethics or what is referred to as consequentialism. These theory urges that outcome of an action is the determining factor. For instance they believe that a good consequence can only result from an action that is morally right. For these reason utilitarianism holds that when most people are pleased about a certain action, the action automatically becomes right. Therefore pleasure and happiness can only be maximized when the action is good. According to this concept the ultimate goal of mankind is to maximize pleasure. The right based ethics falls under divine command theory where whatever has been decreed by the creator to be right is what is considered as right. Therefore the right based ethics explains human rights that are naturally absolute and these rights are what eventually form human rights.
Kantian ethics also falls under the divine command theory. This concept greatly emphasizes human morality on rationality basis and greatly condones violation of some moral laws. Kant argues that a morally right act is the act that has been done in respect to responsibility and the motive behind the action is the determinant factor whether the act will be considered moral right or wrong. Therefore in this case the outcome of the action or the underlying consequences does not play any role in determining whether an action that was done was right or not. Therefore people are encouraged to act on the basis of the motivating principle and they should always treat people as the end and the only means to the desired end. On the other hand virtue ethics greatly emphasizes on the character of a person more than the consequences or the effects of nature.
Virtue is simply considered as characters or actions that creates individuals well being. Well being may be as a result of a good life or eudaimonia. Virtue dictates that conflict should only be resolved by employing practical wisdom. There are a number of theories that explain virtue ethics. For instances Aristotle’s eudaimonism emphasizes that well being can only be achieved through right actions. Therefore daily practice of virtue in respect to practical wisdom yields well being. Another theory used to explain virtue ethics is agent based theories. These theories define virtue on the basis of common sense. For instance it’s very easy to identify admirable traits. Ethics of care generally uses women and their act of care to define virtue and morality. The use of common sense plays a basic role in defining and identifying virtues exhibited by people.