So apparently "normative ethics" "is the branch of philosophical ethics that investigates the set of questions that arise when considering how one ought to act, morally speaking" (Wikipedia).
There seems to be several main philosophies going around in everyone's minds; Virtue ethics, Deontology, Consequentialism, and some others.
"A virtue ethicist, however, would focus less on lying in any particular instance and instead consider what a decision to tell a lie or not tell a lie said about one's character and moral behavior. As such, lying would be made in a case-by-case basis that would be based on factors such as personal benefit, group benefit, and intentions (as to whether they are benevolent or malevolent)." (Wikipedia) I basically understand that as someone to make decisions based on how they want others to view them.
Deontology "judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules.[1] It is sometimes described as "duty" or "obligation" or "rule" -based ethics, because rules "bind you to your duty"." (Wikipedia) This seems to me someone who thinks lying is always wrong no matter what.
Consequentialism holds that "the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness of that conduct. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act (or omission) is one that will produce a good outcome, or consequence." I understand this as someone determining is lying or not would produce the outcomes they want.
There is a subset of consequentialism called "Hedonistic Utilitarianism." "This form of utilitarianism holds that what matters is the aggregate happiness; the happiness of everyone and not the happiness of any particular person" (Wikipedia) I am this I guess, and I understand this to mean my ultimate goal in life is to maximize happiness and minimize pain for the largest amount of people, not just myself.
I feel like that is the hero's perspective, one probably Gandhi and a lot of other historic people had, and am very happy I think that way ^_^
I'm just wondering how popular that is compared to the other viewpoints. Which category do you fall into?
