Home›Ethics›Branch of Philosophy›EthicsBranches of PhilosophyEthicsAlso Known As Moral PhilosophyEthicsReference and ClassificationDevelopingThe branch of philosophy concerned with how one ought to live and act, and with what makes an action right or a life good. Three broad families of answer have dominated the Western tradition: virtue ethics, associated with Aristotle, which asks what character traits make a person excellent and treats right action as what a virtuous person would do; deontological ethics, associated with Kant, which grounds rightness in duty and in principles that could be willed as universal law regardless of consequences; and consequentialism, most fully developed as utilitarianism by Bentham and Mill, which judges an action by the balance of good and harm it produces. Ethics also covers metaethical questions about whether moral claims can be true at all, and applied questions about specific practical dilemmas, but the founding question, how should one live, is Socrates' own, asked in nearly every dialogue Plato wrote.FactsEthicsConnectionsIn the Other AtlasesSourcesDissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)Frequently Asked QuestionsComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsDisputedKey DebateScholarly debateConsequentialism versus deontology, sharpened by the trolley problem: whether the rightness of an action is fixed entirely by its consequences, as consequentialists hold, or by duties and rules that can forbid an act even when it produces the best outcome, as deontologists hold, with trolley cases used to test the two views against shared intuitions. 1The trolley problem and its variants have been used since Philippa Foot and Judith Jarvis Thomson to sharpen, without settling, the older dispute between consequentialist and deontological ethics.Key DebateScholarly debateWhether morality is discovered or made: the Socratic tradition treats the good as an objective target reason can pursue through examined dialogue, while Nietzsche treats inherited morality as a historically contingent human invention, open to revaluation rather than discovery. 2A third position denies both horns: J.L. Mackie's error theory holds that ordinary moral discourse commits speakers to objective values and objective prescriptions, but that no such objective moral facts exist at all, so moral claims are not so much discovered, made, or revalued as systematically false; see the attached dissent.Central QuestionWell-attestedHow should one live, and what makes an action right or a character good? 1Key DebateWell-attestedThe is-ought problem: David Hume observed that moral writers slide, unnoticed, from statements of what is the case to statements of what ought to be the case, a transition he found could not be validly made from facts alone, since the distinction of vice and virtue is not perceived by reason or founded merely on the relations of objects; whether any such gap between fact and value can be bridged remains a live question in metaethics. 1EthicsFilter Results16 entriesSchool of PhilosophyAllConfucianism (2)Continental Philosophy (1)Cynicism (1)Existentialism (3)Stoicism (3)Utilitarianism (1)EraAll-551 (1)-470 (1)-412 (1)-372 (1)-341 (1)-334 (1)-310 (1)-4 (1)55 (1)121 (1)1748 (1)1806 (1)1813 (1)1908 (1)1913 (1)TraditionAllAncient Greek philosophy, Cynicism (1)British Empiricism, Utilitarianism, philosophical liberalism (1)British Utilitarianism (1)Classical Chinese philosophy (1)Classical Chinese philosophy, Confucianism (2)Existentialism (1)Hellenistic and Roman philosophy, Stoicism (1)Hellenistic philosophy, Epicureanism (1)Hellenistic philosophy, Stoicism (1)Roman Stoicism (2)NationalityAllAncient Greece (Historical) (2)China (3)City-State of Athens (Historical) (1)France (1)Germany (1)Greece (1)Roman Empire (Historical) (1)Soviet Union (Historical) (1)United Kingdom (2)Influenced ByAllChrysippus (1)Confucius (1)Epictetus (1)Gabriel Marcel (1)Henry Sidgwick (2)Jeremy Bentham (1)Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1)John Stuart Mill (1)Marcus Aurelius (1)Mencius (1)Plato (1)Birthplace / RegionAllChina (3)France (1)Germany (1)Greece (1)United Kingdom (2)BrowseCompareSelect all 16Albert CamusEthicsConfuciusEthicsDiogenes of SinopeEthicsEpictetusEthicsEpicurusEthicsFriedrich NietzscheEthicsJeremy BenthamEthicsJohn Stuart MillEthicsMarcus AureliusEthicsMenciusEthicsSenecaEthicsSimone de BeauvoirEthicsSocratesEthicsSoren KierkegaardEthicsXunziEthicsZeno of CitiumEthicsConnectionsAssociated WithAristotle, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Bioethics, Branches of Philosophy Well-attested Source Bioethics (Wikipedia)tier 3Environmental Philosophy, Branches of Philosophy Well-attested Source Environmental Philosophy (Wikipedia)tier 3Immanuel Kant, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Jeremy Bentham, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Philosophy of Sport, Branches of Philosophy Well-attested Source Philosophy of Sport (Wikipedia)tier 3Socrates, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1IncludesAbsurdism, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Albert Camus, Philosophers Well-attested The Rebel is a moral philosophy of revolt and its limits.Source Albert Camus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Aristotle, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Bad Faith, Concepts Well-attested Source Jean-Paul Sartre (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Baruch Spinoza, Philosophers Well-attested Categorical Imperative, Arguments and Positions Well-attested Chrysippus, Philosophers Well-attested Confucianism, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Source Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Confucius, Philosophers Well-attested Source Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Cynicism, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1David Hume, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Deontology, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Diogenes of Sinope, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Epictetus, Philosophers Well-attested Epicureanism, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Epicurus, Philosophers Well-attested Existentialism, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Experience Machine, Arguments and Positions Well-attested Friedrich Nietzsche, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1G.E. Moore, Philosophers Well-attested Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Works Well-attested Hannah Arendt, Philosophers Well-attested Immanuel Kant, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Is-Ought Problem, Arguments and Positions Well-attested Source Is-Ought Problem (Wikipedia)tier 3Jean-Paul Sartre, Philosophers Well-attested His account of bad faith and authenticity is a genuinely ethical body of work.Source Jean-Paul Sartre (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Jeremy Bentham, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Philosophers Well-attested John Rawls, Philosophers Well-attested John Stuart Mill, Philosophers Well-attested Kantianism, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Marcus Aurelius, Philosophers Well-attested Mencius, Philosophers Well-attested Mohism, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Natural Law Theory, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Self-Reliance, Works Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Seneca, Philosophers Well-attested Simone de Beauvoir, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Socrates, Philosophers Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Soren Kierkegaard, Philosophers Well-attested Stoicism, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Source Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1The Analects, Works Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1The Categorical Imperative, Concepts Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1The Conduct of Life, Works Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1The Nicomachean Ethics, Works Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1The Open Question Argument, Arguments and Positions Well-attested The Trolley Problem, Concepts Well-attested Source Trolley Problem (Wikipedia)tier 2Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Works Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Utilitarianism, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Virtue Ethics, Schools of Philosophy Well-attested Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Xunzi, Philosophers Well-attested Zeno of Citium, Philosophers Well-attested Source Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1In the Other AtlasesAlso in Society and Culture Atlas: Cultural Relativism, discusses this subject there.Sources1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Informations.v. Ethicsentry: Socratess.v. Doing vs. Allowing Harmentry: Hume's Moral Philosophy, Section 5 Is and OughtAttention to this transition would 'subvert all the vulgar systems of morality, and let us see, that the distinction of vice and virtue is not founded merely on the relations of objects, nor is perceiv'd by reason.'Includes: AristotleIncludes: Immanuel KantIncludes: David HumeIncludes: Simone de BeauvoirIncludes: Jeremy BenthamIncludes: UtilitarianismIncludes: ExistentialismIncludes: The Nicomachean EthicsIncludes: The Categorical ImperativeIncludes: SocratesIncludes: Friedrich NietzscheIncludes: Thus Spoke ZarathustraAssociated With: Aristotle, entry: Aristotle's EthicsAssociated With: Immanuel Kant, entry: Kant's Moral PhilosophyAssociated With: Jeremy Bentham, entry: ConsequentialismIncludes: CynicismIncludes: Diogenes of SinopeIncludes: The AnalectsIncludes: Self-RelianceIncludes: The Conduct of LifeIncludes: Mohism, entry: Mohism, IntroductionThey were the first in the tradition to engage, like Socrates in ancient Greece, in an explicit, reflective search for objective moral standards and to give step-by-step, tightly reasoned arguments for their views.Includes: Virtue Ethics, entry: Virtue Ethics, IntroductionVirtue ethics is currently one of three major approaches in normative ethics.Includes: Deontology, entry: Deontological Ethics, IntroductionIn contemporary moral philosophy, deontology is one of those kinds of normative theories regarding which choices are morally required, forbidden, or permitted.View the Source2. Moral Anti-Realism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophySection 3.2Quote, Section 3.2John Mackie...argues that when we participate in moral discourse we commit ourselves to the existence of objective values and objective prescriptions, but there are no such things.View the SourceEthics (Wikipedia)tier 2WikipediaIntroductionQuote, IntroductionEthics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right.View the SourceInternet Encyclopedia of Philosophytier 1Includes: ConfuciusIncludes: Zeno of CitiumIncludes: StoicismIncludes: ConfucianismView the SourceJean-Paul Sartre (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyIncludes: Jean-Paul SartreIncludes: Bad FaithView the SourceAlbert Camus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyIncludes: Albert CamusView the SourceTrolley Problem (Wikipedia)tier 2WikipediaIncludes: The Trolley Problem, IntroductionQuote, Includes: The Trolley Problem, IntroductionThe series usually begins with a scenario in which a runaway trolley (tram) or train is on course to collide with and kill a number of people.View the SourceEnvironmental Philosophy (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaAssociated With: Environmental Philosophy, Lead sectionQuote, Associated With: Environmental Philosophy, Lead sectionEnvironmental philosophy includes environmental ethics, environmental aesthetics, ecofeminism, environmental hermeneutics, and environmental theology.View the SourcePhilosophy of Sport (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaAssociated With: Philosophy of Sport, Lead sectionQuote, Associated With: Philosophy of Sport, Lead sectionThese issues cover many areas, but fall primarily into five philosophical categories: metaphysics, ethics and moral philosophy, philosophy of law, political philosophy and aesthetics.View the SourceBioethics (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaAssociated With: Bioethics, Lead sectionQuote, Associated With: Bioethics, Lead sectionBioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to healthView the SourceIs-Ought Problem (Wikipedia)tier 3WikipediaIncludes: Is-Ought Problem, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Is-Ought Problem, Lead sectionIt was first articulated by the 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume, who saw a significant difference between descriptive statements (about what is) and prescriptive statements (about what ought to be).View the SourceDissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)Key DebateOrdinary moral discourse commits speakers to the existence of objective values and objective prescriptions, reasons for action that would bind regardless of any agent's desires, but no such objective moral facts exist. Such properties would be metaphysically queer, unlike anything else in a naturalistic world, and our capacity to know them would be equally mysterious. Moral judgments are therefore not correctly analyzed as either the Socratic discovery of an objective good or a Nietzschean invention open to revaluation; they are, on this error theory, systematically and uniformly false, even though speakers do not intend or realize this when they make them.A dissenting reading, from an independent laneMoral Anti-Realism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyFrequently Asked QuestionsWhat is the is-ought problem, and why does it matter for ethics?David Hume pointed out that moral writers often slide from statements about what is the case to statements about what ought to be the case without justifying the move, and whether that gap between fact and value can ever be closed is still debated.David Hume observed that moral writers slide, often unnoticed, from statements of what is the case to statements of what ought to be the case, a transition he argued could not be validly made from facts alone, since the distinction between vice and virtue is not perceived by reason or founded merely on the relations between objects. Whether any such gap between fact and value can be bridged remains a live question in metaethics, and it is one of the reasons some philosophers doubt that ethical conclusions can ever be derived from purely factual premises.Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.