Normative Ethics

Advantages of Virtue Ethics

• isn’t following a rule, there’s something important and tangible about moral motivation. Just following a rule doesn’t seem as good

• captures the complexity of morality

Disadvantages of Virtue Ethics

• hard to determine and subjective—> how do I determine who a virtuous person is?

• is self focused on the morality of the individual and not the outcome

  • EX: doctor tries a new method to attempt to save a patient’s life. it doesn’t work the patient ends up dying—> virtue ethics will argue that the person is virtuous while others will argue that it doesn’t matter b/c the person is dead

Deontology Advantages

• clear instructions, just follow the rules—> the rulebook

• the individual can live their own lives as long as they are following the rules and not breaking any rules

• aligns w/ our intuition abt many cases

  • should you kill one to save 5—> No

Deontology Disadvantages

• following the rules can be counterintuitive

• is self centered—> in the murder case, why should my lying matter more than saving the victim?

• dilemmas can occur

Consequentialism Advantages

• tells us what to do

• is concerned for others

• outcomes matter

Consequentialism Disadvantages

• difficult to calc consequences

• encourages us to be calculating machines—> no space for moral complexity

• does not allow for personal attachments + projects