"The Philosophy of Ethics"

Last year I did a course on a topic completely unrelated to my academic background - a course at Oxford on the 'Philosophy of Ethics'. The course choice was driven by questions I have about what is the right thing to do - a question we often face in our work and personal lives.

We had 4 months of (online recorded) lectures, discussions with ‘classmates’ (all online) and multiple assignments. It was an intense journey and so insightful!

Sharing below some of my theoretical and practical lessons from the course: 


Overall, we delved deep into four major theories on ethics:

Virtue ethics by Aristotle: According to Aristotle, the right action is the one that would be chosen by a virtuous person, and the virtuous person would know what is right, will do what is right and does it for the right reasons. In this theory, reason trumps everything else and is the only driver of virtuous actions. Also, Eudaimonia (happiness) is the aim of life. Eudaimonia is a lifelong pursuit that reflects a flourishing life, and can be assessed only after one's life is completed.

Humean ethics by David Hume: The right action is the one towards which a true judge feels approbation. A true judge is defined as someone who adopts a stable and general perspective of the world, and empathises with all those affected by an action, not just themselves. Hume believes reasons are slaves to desires (or passions). Without desire or passion, just reason alone cannot motivate actions.

Deontology by Immanuel Kant: The right action is the one that is performed out of duty, as required by the moral law. Actions motivated by duty have moral worth. Actions out of passion might be morally right, but lack moral worth. Kant feels happiness cannot be achieved without morality and reason.

Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill: The right action maximizes the greatest happiness for the greatest number. The morality of an action is defined by its consequences, rather than just the intention or the action itself.

It was a long journey to understand these theories, their differences and come up with my own opinion on what is the right thing to do. At the end of the course, we all chose the theory we think worked best for us.

For me, Utilitarianism combined with Aristotle’s Virtue ethics was the best guide to determining the right thing to do. Virtue ethics misses one point - a clear decision-making framework for complex situations. Utilitarianism provides that, by aiming for the greatest good for the greatest number. Moreover, the definition of a virtuous person can determine who should have the power to make the difficult decisions under utilitarianism.

What do you think?