page_title: Philosophy
section_title: Ethics
hierarchical_section_title: Philosophy / Branches of philosophy / Value theory / Ethics
caption_attribution_description: Beijing Guozijian
context_page_description: Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. The term was probably coined by Pythagoras. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation.
  Classic philosophical questions include: "Is it possible to know anything?", and if so, "Can we prove it?" Philosophers also pose more practical and concrete questions such as: "Is there a best way to live?", "Is it better to be just, even if one could get away with being unjust?", 'do humans have free will?'
  Historically, philosophy encompassed all bodies of knowledge. From the time of Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle to the 19th century, "natural philosophy" encompassed astronomy, medicine, and physics. For example, Newton's 1687 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy later became classified as a book of physics.
  In the 19th century, the growth of modern research universities led academic philosophy and other disciplines to professionalize and specialize.
context_section_description: Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, studies what constitutes good and bad conduct, right and wrong values, and good and evil. Its primary investigations include how to live a good life and identifying standards of morality. It also includes investigating whether or not there is a best way to live or a universal moral standard, and if so, how we come to learn about it. The main branches of ethics are normative ethics, meta-ethics and applied ethics.
  The three main views in ethics about what constitute moral actions are:
  Consequentialism, which judges actions based on their consequences. One such view is utilitarianism, which judges actions based on the net happiness (or pleasure) and/or lack of suffering (or pain) that they produce.
  Deontology, which judges actions based on whether or not they are in accordance with one's moral duty. In the standard form defended by Immanuel Kant, deontology is concerned with whether or not a choice respects the moral agency of other people, regardless of its consequences.
  Virtue ethics, which judges actions based on the moral character of the agent who performs them and whether they conform to what an ideally virtuous agent would do.
caption: The Beijing imperial college was an intellectual center for Confucian ethics and classics during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
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