Virtue Ethics and Action Ethics

Abstract

In this work we compare three different approaches to ethics: Aristotle’s, Kant’s and the utilitarian approach defended originally by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, and we explore some similarities and differences that depend on the ways in which these theories focus on moral questions. When we compare the theories on the basis of their conception of the fundamental unit of ethical assessment, we see that Aristotle’s approach considers a complete life as the unit of evaluation, whereas Kant and the utilitarians focus rather on the ethical value of actions. If, on the other hand, we consider their conception of the good, we see that Aristotle and the utilitarians see happiness as having an essential value, whereas for Kant the center is duty. The work ends with a discussion of the notion of happiness.

Key words: ethics, action, virtue, Artitotle, Kant, utilitarianism.