6 approaches

Core Focus: Self-interest.
Definition: An action is morally right if it maximizes the best interests and benefits for the person performing the action.
Key Idea: Focuses entirely on personal gain rather than the welfare of others.

Core Focus: Rules, duties, and obligations.
Definition: An action is morally right if it follows universal moral rules or duties (e.g., "always tell the truth"), regardless of the consequences.
#5 Intro to Ethics, Morality.pptx
Key Idea: The act itself matters most, not the outcome. Certain actions are inherently right or wrong.
#5 Intro to Ethics, Morality.pptx

Core Focus: Character, intent, and having a "good heart".
Definition: An action is right if it is what a virtuous person with good character traits (like honesty, compassion, or integrity) would choose to do.
#5 Intro to Ethics, Morality.pptx
Key Idea: Focuses on who you are as a person rather than just following rules or calculating outcomes.

Core Focus: Outcomes and overall happiness.
Definition: An action is right if it produces the greatest amount of happiness (or least amount of pain) for the greatest number of people.
#5 Intro to Ethics, Morality.pptx
Key Idea: The ends justify the means; the outcome determines the morality.

Core Focus: Evaluating actions strictly within their specific cultural context rather than using external standards.
Definition: The belief that moral standards and values vary by culture, meaning there are no universal moral truths—right and wrong can only be judged relative to a specific society's rules.
- Key Idea: There are no universal moral truths; "right" is relative to who is judging it.

Core Focus: Reciprocity and empathy.
Definition: Treat others how you want to be treated (e.g., "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you").
Key Idea: Uses personal perspective as a standard to guide ethical behavior toward others.

exmaple
"Is it okay to cheat on the quiz? Go through the 6 approaches: Yes (why), No (why), Maybe (why)."

Yes (Why): If cheating helps you pass, secure a better grade, or save time and effort with zero personal penalty, it benefits your self-interest.
No (Why): If getting caught results in failing the course, getting expelled, or ruining your reputation, the personal consequences outweigh the short-term gain.
Maybe (Why): It depends entirely on whether the personal payoff (getting a good grade) is higher than the personal risk of getting caught.

Yes (Why): A rule-breaker might argue under a hyper-individualistic duty to self-preservation that surviving academic pressure overrides all else. (Note: Generally considered a weak "yes" for deontology).
No (Why): Cheating inherently breaks a universal moral duty and rule: "Do not lie or cheat." If everyone cheated,the entire concept of education and testing would collapse.
Maybe (Why): Only if a higher duty conflicts with the rule (e.g., lying to protect someone from severe harm), but academic testing rarely meets this threshold.

Yes (Why): If your internal motivation is pure love for survival or helping a struggling peer succeed, a virtue ethicist might look at the intent—though true virtue ethics rarely permits cheating.
No (Why): Cheating requires vices like dishonesty, laziness, and a lack of integrity. A person with a "good heart" and virtuous character strives to earn success honestly.
Maybe (Why): If done out of extreme desperation or compassion to help a friend who is facing unfair pressures,though a virtuous person would still view honesty as the superior trait.

Yes (Why): If cheating causes no physical pain to anyone else, secures your scholarship, makes you happy, and keeps your parents proud, it temporarily maximizes net happiness.
No (Why): The negative consequences are massive: it devalues honest students' grades, ruins class curves, erodes trust in the educational system, and causes severe harm if you are caught.
Maybe (Why): If the immediate happiness/relief gained by passing outweighs the tiny, unnoticeable harm done to the rest of the class.

Yes (Why): If your specific peer group, classroom culture, or local school norm normalizes sharing answers and views cheating as "just helping each other out," then it is culturally permissible there.
No (Why): If your university's strict academic code and societal culture strictly condemn cheating as immoral, then it is wrong according to that cultural standard.
Maybe (Why): Because "right and wrong" change depending on whose perspective you look at—acceptable in a cheating-tolerant subculture, unacceptable in an honor-code culture.

Yes (Why): If you wouldn't mind others cheating off you, or if you would want someone to help you pass if the roles were reversed.
No (Why): You would not want others to cheat and ruin the grading curve, take unearned honors, or degrade the value of a degree you worked hard for. Therefore, you shouldn't do it to them.
Maybe (Why): If you apply it strictly to a peer relationship ("I am helping my friend pass just like I'd want them to help me"), but it fails when considering the wider classroom community.