-
1800 BCE
Jeremy Bentham & John Stuart Mill
Ethics is best explained by the maxim, “Do whatever produces
the greatest good for the greatest number.” The theory argues
that what makes an act right is its consequences and not the
motive of the action. The effects or consequences determine
the goodness or badness of an action. An act is good if and when
it gives good results, if it works, if it makes you successful, and
if it makes you attain your purpose. Otherwise, it is bad. -
1588 BCE
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes believes that human beings are
basically selfish creatures who would do anything to improve
their position. According to Hobbes, people would act on their
evil impulses if left alone for themselves; therefore, they
should not be trusted to make decisions on their own. In
addition, Hobbes felt that like people, nations are selfishly
motivated. For him, each country is in a constant battle for
power and wealth. -
469 BCE
Socrates
Socrates was an Athenian Philosopher whose questions
and opinions clashed with the current course of Athenian
politics and society. Socrates worked to critically examine
the foundational beliefs that were common in Greece during
his time, and encouraged other citizens to do so as well. He
was accused of corrupting the youth and disbelieving in the
gods of the city and was sentenced to death by poison. -
428 BCE
Plato
Plato ranks among the greatest philosophers of
the world, and is viewed by many scholars as the
most important Philosopher of Western civilization.
Plato held that moral values are objective in the sense
that they exist in a spirit-like realm beyond subjective
human conventions. He held that they are absolute,
or eternal, in that they never change, and also that
they are universal insofar as they apply to all rational
creatures around the world and throughout time.
(Racelis, 2017) -
384 BCE
Aristotle
In Arabic Philosophy, he was known simply as “The First
Teacher;” in the West, he was “The Philosopher.”
The ethics of Aristotle is concerned with action, not as
being right in itself irrespective of any other consideration, but
with actions conducive to man’s good. Aristotle sets himself
to discover what this good is and what the science
corresponding to it is. (Copleston, 1993).
