Compare And Contrast Virtue Ethics Vs Utilitarianism
Both utilitarianism and virtue ethics have their individual strengths and weaknesses regarding moral situations. In this essay, I will proceed to first summarize the core concepts of both utilitarianism and virtue ethics. Then, I will introduce a scenario that will be used to compare the two ethical frameworks side by side based on what decision they would entail. Finally, I will argue that virtue ethics is morally better than utilitarianism, even if the outcomes of utilitarianism seem to be more preferable to virtue ethics, due to a difference of flexibility that the two theories have.
Utilitarianism is a moral theory that is also called by John Stuart Mill the “Greatest Happiness Principle” (Mill, p.77), which states that “actions are right …show more content…
This choice is better from a utilitarian perspective because it maximizes utility since fewer people would die as a result of the assassination and the collapse of Country 2’s government versus the casualties that would have occurred in a continued war. Since more people would be alive if the spy kills the officials, the overall unhappiness of the people would be less than the unhappiness that would occur otherwise, so it is considered the better of the two choices because since it maximizes …show more content…
In the framework of utilitarianism, the spy takes the action that would end in the best outcome based on the number of lives that would be saved versus the number that would die through his actions. However; in the framework of virtue ethics, the spy takes his action based on his moral character rather than the apparent consequences of his actions. Due to this, the war will more likely than not still occur, but the spy attempts to make a stance for peace at the end of his choice. He takes a risk that could end in a more preferable outcome through more ethical means, while in the utilitarian perspective, the spy would be using less ethical means to achieve his goal. The only similarity that these two frameworks could have is that in both cases, the spy acts in order to maximize
Utilitarianism is a moral theory that is also called by John Stuart Mill the “Greatest Happiness Principle” (Mill, p.77), which states that “actions are right …show more content…
This choice is better from a utilitarian perspective because it maximizes utility since fewer people would die as a result of the assassination and the collapse of Country 2’s government versus the casualties that would have occurred in a continued war. Since more people would be alive if the spy kills the officials, the overall unhappiness of the people would be less than the unhappiness that would occur otherwise, so it is considered the better of the two choices because since it maximizes …show more content…
In the framework of utilitarianism, the spy takes the action that would end in the best outcome based on the number of lives that would be saved versus the number that would die through his actions. However; in the framework of virtue ethics, the spy takes his action based on his moral character rather than the apparent consequences of his actions. Due to this, the war will more likely than not still occur, but the spy attempts to make a stance for peace at the end of his choice. He takes a risk that could end in a more preferable outcome through more ethical means, while in the utilitarian perspective, the spy would be using less ethical means to achieve his goal. The only similarity that these two frameworks could have is that in both cases, the spy acts in order to maximize