The Teleological, Deontological And Virtue-Based Theory

The concept of morals and truth is fluid, not static. Something that is taboo in one culture and acceptable in another. To various cultures, the circumstances that led up to the act determines whether it is true and good. Ronald White explains, there is a difference between whether something is good and/or true (279). There happen to be three primary theories that explain morality and they all answer the same questions: what is good, why is it good, and where is the good located (280). The theories that answer these questions are the teleological, deontological, and virtue-based theory. These theories answer the same questions nevertheless they don’t answer them the same way. White believes that humans remain notoriously fickle with the
This theory decides where the goodness is in our consequences (280). This viewpoint contemplates the potential advantage or disadvantage that comes with the consequences. Humans decide whether the ends justify the means. Therefore, when weighing the consequences with the reason why one did something it's an example of the teleological theory. According to the deontological theory, morality is the act of carrying out obligations, it has nothing to do with the consequences. Through this outlook, maintaining a law or rule is something one must do to be morally right (281). The morality of a rule is impartial to whatever advantage it gave, it's decided by whether the rule was obeyed. For example, a man robs a bank and harms several people in the process to fund their child's life-saving operation. From the deontological stance, this action is morally wrong. Breaking into a bank is a federal offense also, harming and stealing from others is breaking two moral rules. Since this person broke the federal law and broke moral rules they are in the wrong, no matter how someone else benefits from this. The nobility of an action does not matter, only if an absolute moral rule was disobeyed