Aristotle, Mill, Kant - Essay Example

1. and explain Aristotle’s account of moral virtue According to Aristotle, moral virtue refers to a of character that falls in between deficiency and excess. In addition, Aristotle believes that there needs to be a clear-cut distinction between the intellectual and moral virtues. Moral virtues are concerned with feelings, choices and decisions while intellectual ones are those virtues that result from education. Aristotle also believes that happiness is not achievable unless the person in pursuit of it has attained the state of morality (Talbot, 2005).2. State and explain Mill’s supreme moral principle Mill’s supreme moral principal states that: "The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness (Sharman, 2005).

"Ideally, Mill’s concept of morality ultimately associates virtue with happiness. He believes that we first learn virtuous actions by linking them to pleasurable things. Mill’s supremacy of morality was founded on the basis of advocating for fairness in the legislation of Britain.3. State and explain Kant’s supreme moral principle Kant’s supreme moral principle states: "Act only on a maxim that you can will to be a universal law (Kant, 1964)." To put it simply, Kant believes that each one should act as if his actions are ultimately contributing to the universal law.

He therefore approaches morality from the common sense approach. He believes that a god will is ultimately good. Kant (1964) believes that morality is the process of doing what the society generally permits as acceptable. Morality involves making rationalizations in order to end up with a decision on what is the right thing to do when in a dilemma situation. However, the rationalization must always be consistent with the moral law and in addition to that; it must also be done only for a moral reason ReferencesKant, I. (1964). Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals.

Translated by H.J. Paton. New York: Harper & Row, Pp. 61-73Sharman, N. (2005). Of manners and morals. British Journal of Education. 53(3):272-289Talbot, B. (2005). Virtues We Can Share: Friendship and Aristotelian Ethical Theory. Ethics. 115(4): 721-758