My Reflection of Ethics

A great philosopher of Ethics is Aristotle. His theory was originally introduced in ancient Greek times. Aristotle was a great believer in virtues and the meaning of virtue to him meant being able to fulfill one's functions. Some base ethics on pure reason, while others ground ethics in feelings or intuitions. Aristotle says that those who do lead a virtuous life are very happy and have sense of well-being. Happiness is the ultimate goal for everyone in life. Utilitarian’s believe ethics becomes a matter of calculating how to produce the greatest balance of pleasure over suffering. To become a better person, we must practice virtuous acts regularly. After a while, these acts will become a habit and so the virtuous acts part of our every day life and the person will be leading a virtuous life. For example, if a singer practices singing everyday, they will become better at it and used to doing it. People who practice their virtues improve their skills and therefore becoming happier. When a person learns how to use the virtues, they become the characteristic of the person. For example, a person who has learned the virtue of generosity is often called a generous person because he or she is generous in all situations. Aristotle says we are most likely to acquire virtues by observing others in our society. If we experience other people being kind to us and see the happiness it creates we are more likely to practice this virtue then if we were just told to practice it. Social contract theorists believe ethical principals are made, not found. They also believe ethics are constructed by social groups, and exists for the benefit of those groups. Social contract theory is an examination of the justice and fairness of political and social and ethical systems. An example of this would be that I would never accept a rule that says, ‘women should have less opportunity to become president, or that African Americans should have less chance of going to college or be restricted