Editing Normative ethics (section)

==Normative ethical theories==
There are disagreements about what precisely gives an action, rule, or disposition its ethical force. There are three competing views on how [[moral questions]] should be answered, along with hybrid positions that combine some elements of each: [[virtue ethics]], [[deontological ethics]]; and [[consequentialism]]. Virtue ethics focuses on the character of those who are acting. In contrast, both deontological ethics and consequentialism focus on the status of the action, rule, or disposition itself, and come in various forms.

=== Virtue ethics ===
{{Main|Virtue ethics}}
Virtue ethics, advocated by [[Aristotle]] with some aspects being supported by [[Thomas Aquinas|Saint Thomas Aquinas]], focuses on the inherent character of a person rather than on specific actions.<ref>D. O. Thomas, ''Obedience to Conscience'', Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, New Series, Vol. 64 (1963 - 1964), pp. 243-258.</ref> There has been a significant revival of virtue ethics since the 1950s,<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last1=Hursthouse |first1=Rosalind |title=Virtue Ethics |date=2023 |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2023/entries/ethics-virtue/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |edition=Fall 2023 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |last2=Pettigrove |first2=Glen |editor2-last=Nodelman |editor2-first=Uri}}</ref> through the work of such philosophers as [[G.&nbsp;E.&nbsp;M. Anscombe]], [[Philippa Foot]], [[Alasdair MacIntyre]], and [[Rosalind Hursthouse]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stohr |first1=Karen |last2=Wellman |first2=Christopher Heath |date=2002 |title=Recent Work on Virtue Ethics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20010057 |journal=American Philosophical Quarterly |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=49–72 |jstor=20010057 |issn=0003-0481}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Simpson |first=Peter |date=1992 |title=Contemporary Virtue Ethics and Aristotle |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20129214 |journal=The Review of Metaphysics |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=503–524 |jstor=20129214 |issn=0034-6632}}</ref>

=== Deontological ethics ===
{{Main|Deontological ethics}}
[[Deontology]] argues that decisions should be made considering the factors of one's duties and one's rights. Some deontological theories include:

* [[Immanuel Kant]]'s [[categorical imperative]], which roots morality in humanity's rational capacity and asserts certain inviolable moral laws.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Johnson |first1=Robert |title=Kant's Moral Philosophy |date=2022 |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2022/entries/kant-moral/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |edition=Fall 2022 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |last2=Cureton |first2=Adam |editor2-last=Nodelman |editor2-first=Uri}}</ref>
* The [[contractualism]] of [[John Rawls]], which holds that the moral acts are those that we would all agree to if we were unbiased, behind a "[[veil of ignorance]]."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rawls |first=John |title=A theory of justice |date=1999 |publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-00077-3 |edition=Rev. |location=Cambridge, Mass}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=2002-11-26 |title=John Rawls, Theorist on Justice, Is Dead at 82 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/26/us/john-rawls-theorist-on-justice-is-dead-at-82.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* [[Natural rights]] theories, such that of [[John Locke]] or [[Robert Nozick]], which hold that human beings have absolute, natural rights.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Paul |first1=Ellen Frankel |title=Natural rights liberalism from Locke to Nozick |last2=Miller |first2=Fred Dycus |last3=Paul |first3=Jeffrey |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge university press |isbn=978-0-521-61514-3 |location=Cambridge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Heyman |first=Steven |date=2018-03-01 |title=The Light of Nature: John Locke, Natural Rights, and the Origins of American Religious Liberty |url=https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol101/iss3/4 |journal=Marquette Law Review |volume=101 |issue=3 |pages=705}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scanlon |first=Thomas |date=1976 |title=Nozick on Rights, Liberty, and Property |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2265059 |journal=Philosophy & Public Affairs |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=3–25 |jstor=2265059 |issn=0048-3915}}</ref>

=== Consequentialism ===
{{Main|Consequentialism}}
Consequentialism argues that the morality of an action is contingent on the action's outcome or result. Consequentialist theories, varying in what they consider to be valuable (i.e., [[axiology]]), include:

* [[Utilitarianism]] holds that an action is right if it leads to the most ''[[happiness]]'' for the greatest number of people. Prior to the coining of the term "consequentialism" by [[G. E. M. Anscombe]] in 1958<ref name=":1" /> and the adoption of that term in the literature that followed, ''utilitarianism'' was the generic term for ''consequentialism'', referring to all theories that promoted maximizing ''any'' form of utility, not just those that promoted maximizing happiness.
* [[State consequentialism]], or [[Mohism|Mohist]] consequentialism, holds that an action is right if it leads to ''state welfare'', through ''[[Social order|order]]'', ''[[material wealth]]'', and ''[[population growth]]''.
* [[Situational ethics]] emphasizes the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically. Specifically, [[Christian ethics|Christian forms]] of situational ethics hold that the correct action is the one that creates the most loving result, and that ''love'' should always be people's goal.
* [[Intellectualism]] dictates that the best action is the one that best fosters and promotes ''[[knowledge]]''.
* [[Welfarism]], which argues that the best action is the one that most increases ''economic well-being or welfare''.
* [[Preference utilitarianism]], which holds that the best action is the one that leads to the most overall ''preference satisfaction''.

=== Other theories ===

*[[Social contract|Social contract theories]] are a wide range of postulates concerning the voluntary and consensual pacts between two or more individuals or collectives, whose actions related to the following of the clauses of said contract posited while it was in force should be respected and obeyed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Social Contract Theory {{!}} Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=https://iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/ |access-date=2024-10-24 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Deontology and the Social Contract |url=http://www.munmund.net/courses/spring2018/slides_Jan25.pdf}}</ref>
*[[Ethics of care]], or relational ethics, founded by [[feminist theory|feminist theorists]], notably [[Carol Gilligan]], argues that morality arises out of the experiences of [[empathy]] and compassion. It emphasizes the importance of [[Systems theory|interdependence]] and relationships in achieving ethical goals.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hekman |first=Susan J. |title=Moral voices, moral selves: Carol Gilligan and feminist moral theory |date=1995 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=978-0-271-01483-8 |location=University Park, Pa}}</ref>
*[[Pragmatic ethics]] is difficult to classify fully within any of the four preceding conceptions. This view argues that moral correctness evolves similarly to other kinds of knowledge—socially over the course of many lifetimes—and that norms, principles, and moral criteria are likely to be improved as a result of inquiry. [[Charles Sanders Peirce]], [[William James]], and [[John Dewey]] are known as the founders of pragmatism; a more recent proponent of pragmatic ethics was [[James D. Wallace]].
*[[Role ethics]] is based on the concept of family roles.