What is the main difference between virtue based ethical theory and action based ethical theory?

What systems of ethics can you use to guide your choices in life? Ethical systems can generally be broken down into three categories: deontological, teleological and virtue-based ethics. The first two are considered deontic or action-based theories of morality because they focus entirely on the actions which a person performs.

When actions are judged morally right based upon their consequences, we have teleological or consequentialist ethical theory. When actions are judged morally right based upon how well they conform to some set of duties, we have a deontological ethical theory, which is common for theist religions.

Whereas these first two systems focus on the question "What should I do?," the third asks an entirely different question: "What sort of person should I be?" With this, we have a virtue-based ethical theory — it doesn't judge actions as right or wrong but rather the character of the person doing the actions. The person, in turn, makes moral decisions based upon which actions would make one a good person.

Deontological moral systems are characterized primarily by a focus on adherence to independent moral rules or duties. In order to make the correct moral choices, you simply have to understand what your moral duties are and what correct rules exist which regulate those duties. When you follow your duty, you are behaving morally. When you fail to follow your duty, you are behaving immorally. A deontological moral system may be seen in many religions, where you follow the rules and duties that are said to have been established by God or the church.

Teleological moral systems are characterized primarily by a focus on the consequences which any action might have (for that reason, they are often referred to as consequentialist moral systems, and both terms are used here). In order to make correct moral choices, you have to have some understanding of what will result from your choices. When you make choices which result in the correct consequences, then you are acting morally; when you make choices which result in the incorrect consequences, then you are acting immorally. The problem comes in determining correct consequences when an action can produce a variety of outcomes. Also, there may be a tendency to adopt an attitude of the ends justifying the means.

Virtue-based ethical theories place much less emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead focus on helping people develop good character traits, such as kindness and generosity. These character traits will, in turn, allow a person to make the correct decisions later on in life. Virtue theorists also emphasize the need for people to learn how to break bad habits of character, like greed or anger. These are called vices and stand in the way of becoming a good person.

• A right act is the action a virtuous person would do in the same circumstances.

Virtue ethics is person rather than action based: it looks at the virtue or moral character of the person carrying out an action, rather than at ethical duties and rules, or the consequences of particular actions.

Virtue ethics not only deals with the rightness or wrongness of individual actions, it provides guidance as to the sort of characteristics and behaviours a good person will seek to achieve.

In that way, virtue ethics is concerned with the whole of a person's life, rather than particular episodes or actions.

• A good person is someone who lives virtuously - who possesses and lives the virtues.

It's a useful theory since human beings are often more interested in assessing the character of another person than they are in assessing the goodness or badness of a particular action.

This suggests that the way to build a good society is to help its members to be good people, rather than to use laws and punishments to prevent or deter bad actions.

But it wouldn't be helpful if a person had to be a saint to count as virtuous. For virtue theory to be really useful it needs to suggest only a minimum set of characteristics that a person needs to possess in order to be regarded as virtuous.

Virtue ethics teaches:

• An action is only right if it is an action that a virtuous person would carry out in the same circumstances.
• A virtuous person is a person who acts virtuously
• A person acts virtuously if they "possess and live the virtues"
• A virtue is a moral characteristic that a person needs to live well.

Most virtue theorists would also insist that the virtuous person is one who acts in a virtuous way as the result of rational thought (rather than, say, instinct).

The three questions

The modern philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre proposed three questions as being at the heart of moral thinking:

• Who am I?
• Who ought I to become?
• How ought I to get there?

Lists of the virtues

What would a virtuous person do? ©

Most virtue theorists say that there is a common set of virtues that all human beings would benefit from, rather than different sets for different sorts of people, and that these virtues are natural to mature human beings - even if they are hard to acquire.

This poses a problem, since lists of virtues from different times in history and different societies show significant differences.

The traditional list of cardinal virtues was:

• Prudence
• Justice
• Fortitude / Bravery
• Temperance

The modern theologian James F Keenan suggests:

• Justice
  • Justice requires us to treat all human beings equally and impartially.
• Fidelity
  • Fidelity requires that we treat people closer to us with special care.
• Self-care
  • We each have a unique responsibility to care for ourselves, affectively, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
• Prudence
  • The prudent person must always consider Justice, Fidelity and Self-care.
  • The prudent person must always look for opportunities to acquire more of the other three virtues

Good points of virtue ethics

• It centres ethics on the person and what it means to be human
• It includes the whole of a person's life

Bad points of virtue ethics

• it doesn't provide clear guidance on what to do in moral dilemmas
  • although it does provide general guidance on how to be a good person
  • presumably a totally virtuous person would know what to do and we could consider them a suitable role model to guide us
• there is no general agreement on what the virtues are
  • and it may be that any list of virtues will be relative to the culture in which it is being drawn up.

The main difference between virtue ethics utilitarianism is that virtue ethics focuses on the person carrying out an action, whereas utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of the action.

Virtue ethics and utilitarianism are moral and ethical theories that have the ability to determine the rightness or wrongness of an action. Virtue ethics is a moral theory that is concerned with the moral character or goodness of the individual carrying out an act while utilitarianism is the moral theory that states an action is right if it is useful or is beneficial for a majority.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Virtue Ethics 
     – Definition, Characteristics, Focus
2. What is Utilitarianism
     – Definition, Characteristics, Focus
3. Difference Between Virtue Ethics and Utilitarianism
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Ethics, Morals, Utiliniarism, Virtue Ethics

What is Virtue Ethics?

Virtue ethics is a normative ethical theory that is based on character, rather than action. The theory emphasizes virtues of mind, character and sense of honesty. In virtue ethics, a right act is an act that is carried out by a virtuous person. In simple words, virtues ethics looks at the moral character or virtue of a character of the person carrying out an action, instead of the action itself, or the consequences of an action. Thus, this theory deals with the rightness or wrongness of individual actions and describes the characteristics and behaviours a virtuous or good person will seek to achieve. In brief, virtue ethics urges people to live a moral life by practice virtuous habits.

According to many virtue theorists, all human beings would benefit from a common set of virtues. Prudence, justice, fortitude/bravery and temperance were the traditional list of cardinal virtues. However, there is no general agreement on what virtues are; in fact, some virtues may be relative to a person’s culture and society.

Furthermore, virtue ethics is a very useful theory since most people are often interested in assessing the moral character of individuals rather than assessing the rightness or wrongness of a particular action. However, it is also important to note that although virtue ethics provide general guidance on how to become a virtuous person, it does not specify actions to take in moral dilemmas.

What is Utilitarianism?

Utilitarianism is a moral theory that focuses on the consequences of one’s actions rather than one’s intent. According to this theory, an action is right, if it tends to promote happiness – not just the happiness of the person who performs the action, but all those who are affected by that action. Similarly, an action is bad if it produces the opposite of happiness. Thus, a good action in utilitarianism is equal an action with good consequences. Basically, this theory is based on the concept that actions should be measured in terms of pleasure or happiness that produce. In brief, utilitarianists believe that we should act always so as to produce the greatest good for the greatest number. So, this is what we call the principle of utility.

Moreover, this theory stems from the concepts of late 18th and 19th-century English philosophers, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Besides, there are two main theories of utilitarianism as act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism states that the morality of an action is determined by its usefulness to people. Rule utilitarianism states that an action can be morally right if it conforms to the rules that will lead to the greatest good or happiness.

Definition

Virtue ethics is a moral theory that is concerned with the moral character or goodness of the individual carrying out an action while utilitarianism is the moral theory that states an action is right if it is useful or is beneficial for a majority.

Focus

Virtue ethics focuses on the person carrying out an action, whereas utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of the action.

Rightness or Wrongness of an Action

In virtue ethics, a right act or a good act is an act that is carried out by a virtuous person; in utilitarianism, a right act is an act that brings the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Conclusion

Virtue ethics is a moral theory that is concerned with the moral character or goodness of the individual carrying out an act while utilitarianism is the moral theory that states an action is right if it is useful or is beneficial for a majority. The main difference between virtue ethics utilitarianism is that virtue ethics focuses on the person carrying out an action, whereas utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of the action.

Reference:

1. “Ethics – Introduction to Ethics: Virtue Ethics.” BBC, Available here.
2. West, Harry R. “Utilitarianism.” Utilitarianism, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “947574” (CC0) via Pixabay