Key Points at a Glance

Plato (427–347 BCE) articulated four Cardinal Virtues — Wisdom (sophia), Courage (andreia), Temperance (sophrosyne), and Justice (dikaiosyne) — in the Republic; Justice is the supreme virtue, defined as each part of the soul/state performing its proper function.

Aristotle (384–322 BCE) developed Virtue Ethics (Eudaimonism) — virtue is a habit (hexis) formed through practice, the golden mean between excess and deficiency (e.g., courage = mean between rashness and cowardice); the good life is Eudaimonia (flourishing).

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) — Categorical Imperative: "Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law" (Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, 1785); Deontological ethics — the rightness of an act is determined by its adherence to duty/rule, not by its consequences.

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) founded Utilitarianism — "the greatest happiness of the greatest number"; the felicific calculus measures pleasure vs pain; actions are right in proportion to the happiness they produce. John Stuart Mill refined it with higher and lower pleasures (mental pleasures > physical) and introduced harm principle (liberty limited only by preventing harm to others).

John Rawls (1921–2002) — Theory of Justice (1971): society's institutions must be arranged so that the worst-off benefit maximally (Difference Principle); designed behind a Veil of Ignorance — choose principles without knowing your position in society. Rawls' framework underpins modern welfare state ethics.

Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, 563–483 BCE) — Eightfold Path (Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration) for liberation from suffering; Ahimsa, Karuna (compassion), Metta (loving kindness) as ethical foundation; "Upaya Kaushalya" (skillful means — adapting teaching to audience).

Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) — Integral Yoga and Life Divine philosophy: evolution is not merely biological but psychic/spiritual — humanity evolves toward a higher consciousness; the goal is not escape from life but transformation of life into divine life; Supermind as the bridge between human and divine.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) — Humanism and Universalism: opposed Gandhi's village-centrism and narrow nationalism; "Where the mind is without fear" — education for whole-person development, not rote or instrumental; concept of Surplus in man (excess creative energy that seeks expression beyond mere survival).

Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) — Practical Vedanta: Vedanta is not mere philosophy but a call to action; "Daridra Narayana" — serve the poor as service to God; "Strength is Life, Weakness is Death"; education as manifestation of perfection already within; his ethics combined Indian spirituality with Western humanitarian activism.

Deontology vs Consequentialism: The fundamental debate in ethics — Deontology (Kant, Ross) holds that some acts are right/wrong in themselves regardless of outcome; Consequentialism (Bentham, Mill) holds that acts are right if they produce the best outcome. For administrators: Deontological = follow rules (constitutional, procedural) even when outcome seems suboptimal; Consequentialist = results justify the method.

Confucius (Kongzi) (551–479 BCE) — Ren (benevolence), Li (ritual propriety), Yi (righteousness), Zhi (wisdom) as moral virtues; Junzi (exemplary person/gentleman) is the Confucian moral ideal; governance by moral example rather than force; education and moral cultivation primary.

W.D. Ross (1877–1971) — Prima Facie Duties: multiple duties exist (fidelity, non-maleficence, beneficence, justice, gratitude) that are binding unless overridden by a stronger duty; Ross' pluralism addresses the absolutism of both Kant and Utilitarianism — in real life, duties genuinely conflict.