Welcome to our refresher video in this first part we'll revisit the core theoretical foundations of Ethics that you covered in your business ethics course last semester let's begin with utilitarianism this consequentialist Theory holds that an action is morally right if it produces the greatest overall good early ideas of utilitarianism can be traced back long before its formal 19th century formulation Jeremy benam defined good as pleasure and bad as pain evaluating actions by factors such as intensity duration certainty proximity facundity and Purity especially considering the number of people affected his approach aimed to reform laws and social policies to maximize Collective happiness building on bentham's ideas John Stewart Mill argued that some Pleasures particularly intellectual ones are of a higher quality than mere sensual Pleasures he also emphasized the role of internal sanctions like guilt to help guide Behavior later Henry swick provided a systematic exploration of utilitarian methods by addressing challenges such as balancing individual self-interest with the overall good while GE Moore critiqued strict Hedonism Moore introduced the notion of organic Unity asserting that intrinsic Goods like Beauty can add value Beyond Simple sums of pleasure next let's turn to Virtue ethics which centers on the development of moral character rather than just following rules or calculating outcomes according to Hurst house and pedig grov virtue ethics is about cultivating traits such as honesty courage and generosity at its heart is the idea of ett a deep-seated excellence in character that guides consistent action an essential element is practical wisdom or fr is which enables one to understand and navigate complex moral situations the goal is udonia often translated as flourishing or true happiness achieved by living a life in accordance with virtue modern versions of virtue ethics include udist perspectives agent-based or exemplarist approaches Target centered analyses and even platonistic variants that emphasize contemplation of the good you then explore the common good a concept that refers to the social systems institutions and environmental conditions that benefit everyone its roots go back over 2,000 years to thinkers like Plato Aristotle and Cicero and it has been refined by modern voices such as John RS the common good encompasses Essentials like Public Health Care safety a just legal system and a clean environment all of which are available to all members of of society however achieving the common good isn't easy challenges include pluralism where diverse values make consensus difficult the free writer problem in which some benefit without contributing a strong cultural focus on individualism and the issue of unequal burdens which can lead to feelings of Injustice closely related are the principles of justice and fairness at its core Justice Means giving each person what they deserve the basic principle is that equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally only when differences in treatment reflect morally relevant distinctions like effort need or contribution this idea appears in several forms distributive justice deals with the fair allocation of societal benefits and burdens retributive or corrective Justice ensures punishments are proportionate to offenses and compens Justice focuses on fairly redressing harms or losses finally the framework for thinking ethically as described by vascas Andre Shanks and Meyer reminds us that solving moral dilemas Begins by gathering the facts and then evaluating actions through five lenses utilitarian rights Justice common good and virtue this structured approach provides a road map for determining what one ought to do