LP1.1 Assignment: Ethical Theories

"Ethics" is the name of a branch of philosophy, which is the attempt to answer the most fundamental questions of human life by means of reason alone, rather than faith or tradition. Ethics is the continuing effort on the part of the human race to rationally analyze and evaluate the principles and ideals that might help us to understand which ways of life are most admirable and worth living, and which actions are right or wrong.
At the beginning of medieval thought was a struggle to merge the relationship between t faith and reason. St. Thomas Aquinas believed that revelation could guide reason and prevent it from making mistakes, while reason could clarify and interpret faith. St. Thomas Aquinas's work goes on to discuss faith and reason's roles in both recognizing and proving the existence of God. He believed that the existence of God could be proven. Thomas believed that the laws of the state were, in fact, a natural product of human nature, and were essential to social welfare. St. Thomas Aquinas's theses touched upon the questions and struggles of medieval intellectuals, church authorities and everyday people alike. God is the ultimate good that is sought by all rational human beings.
Immanuel Kant believed everything in a society had a worth based on its relative value. He would also believe that “Good Will" is the one thing that is "good without qualification." Other "goods," such as intelligence and health, can be qualified. The Good Will is good by virtue of the fact that it is "the will to follow the Moral Law." He believes attributes are gifts of your genetics or from the environment. He believes good will is not a means to an end; it just is.
John Stuart Mills’ view of theory of life was: There is one thing, and one thing only, that is intrinsically desirable, namely pleasure. In contrast to a form of hedonism that conceives pleasure as the same matter, Mill was convinced that some types of pleasure are more valuable than others in virtue of their inherent qualities. For this reason, his position is often called “qualitative hedonism”. His ideas were founded based on that choices should be based on their consequences of actions and their duty. Basically weigh the consequences of your actions and their effects on others. People need to use reasoning to make decisions based on the good.
In Theory of Justice, John Rawls defends a conception of “justice as fairness.” He holds that an acceptable account of justice cannot come from utilitarianism, because that principle is consistent with automatically unwanted forms of government in which the greater pleasure of a majority is attained by abandoning the rights and interests of a minority. By stimulating the notion of a social contract, Rawls argues that justice consists of the basic values of government that free and rational individuals would agree to in a theoretical situation of perfect equality. In order to ensure that the values chosen are fair, Rawls imagines a group of individuals who have been made ignorant of the social, economic, and historical circumstances from which they come, as well as their basic values and goals, including their conception of what constitutes a “good life.” Situated behind this “veil of ignorance,” they could not be influenced by self-interested desires to benefit some social groups at the cost of others.
Aristotle believed when people acquire good habits of character, they are better able to control their emotions and their purpose. This, in turn, helps us reach morally right decisions when we are confronted with problematic choices. Virtue ethics emphasizes character matters above all else. Living an ethical life, or acting rightly, involves developing and representing the virtues of courage, compassion, wisdom, and temperance. It also involves staying away from things like greed, jealousy, and selfishness. Virtue-based ethical theories place less importance on which rules