Three Types of Ethics ( Engineering ) (This was an assignment for Engineering Ethics Subject during Master's Course)

Apparently, all the three ethics viz., Conceptual (or De-Ontology), Material (or Utilitarianism) and Virtue ethics looks like as though they have independent existence of their own. But a careful observation will make it obvious that the Conceptual and Utilitarian Ethics are the derivatives of the later. i.e., Virtue Ethics. In fact, a culture that doesn’t embrace virtue ethics whole heartedly has already booted the other two ethics knowingly or unknowingly. In a sense utilitarian and conceptual ethics are the results of virtuous thinking of virtuous people who bother to care about the process that is followed and the end result of their action. If Love and Integrity are most important ( most important of all for that matter) basic ethical values of a virtuous person he ensures that his every action would result in making things a little more beautiful if not otherwise, unless it takes a great vision and intelligence that is beyond his human limit. So in essence, a real loving/caring person will also care about other things like nature and not just his/her coworker, because a care for the nature is the care for the next generation, and it is the celebration of a virtuous man if he keeping this world a little beautiful for the coming generation.

In certain cases, conceptual ethics appear to be much more relevant than virtue ethics, although it is not true. Conceptual Ethics may appear superior only in a society or social structure that lacks virtue ethics. In such cases the head of the organization or the society (group of concerned people) has to make certain rules and regulations as to how one is supposed to live and let other in the society live decently. Even here the rules/regulations that make a major portion of conceptual ethics are a result of virtuous thinking of the law maker to keep the society in healthy conditions.

In Utilitarianism too, if a law binds people to ensure the resultant of their action should be ethical, the law is an obvious outcome of virtuous quality of the law maker. Even here, one can make people ensure that the material at the end of certain action is ethical through law, but none can make them really virtuous by enforcing a law. i.e., People can’t be made Virtuous, i.e., loving and caring by enforcing laws, rules and regulations. At the most they can pretend, but can’t love if they don’t wish to be. On the other hand, Even if People are not virtuous they can be made to follow certain protocol, when they carry out certain action. Thus, it can be seen that Conceptual and Utilitarian Ethics are the derivatives of Virtue ethics, which is the most significant of all kinds of ethics.