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Comparing Ethics and Morality

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Comparing Ethics and Morality
M. Williams
ETH/316
December 5, 2013
Leroy T. Smith III, PhDc

In order to determine the differences, you would have to know the meanings of each. Virtue would emphasize one’s character which embodies determining or evaluating ethical behavior; living with high moral standards. Virtue-based ethical theories place 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. (Cline, 2013) Utilitarianism is the morally correct course of action that affects the greater good, without a regard to benefits or burdens. According to utilitarianism, morality is a matter of the non-moral good produced that results from moral actions, rules, and moral duty are instrumental, not intrinsic. One main problem is that utilitarianism if adopted, justifies as morally appropriate things that are clearly immoral. (Moreland, 2009) Deontology determines the morality of an action based on a set of rules or a “binding duty”. Deontological ethics is in keeping with Scripture, natural moral law, and intuitions from common sense. For example, acts of lying, promise breaking, or murder are intrinsically wrong, and we have a duty not to do these things. (Moreland, 2009) A personal example of these values is when I was walking out of Kroger, my son and I observed an older woman struggling with her groceries. As she tried to load them into her vehicle, a couple of her bags ripped spilling their contents to the ground. Several people walked right by her without blinking their eyes. Some of them either jumped over or walked around her groceries as they entered into the grocery store. Before I could react, my son ran to her aid. He said, “I got it”. As I stood there, I could

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