Final answer:
Virtue ethics is character-centered, focusing on the cultivation of virtues for moral behavior, while ethics of conduct, including consequentialism and deontology, focus on the actions themselves. The ethics of conduct is criticized for oversimplifying morality by reducing it to absolute principles.
Step-by-step explanation:
Difference Between Virtue Ethics and Ethics of Conduct
The difference between virtue ethics and ethics of conduct lies in their focus. Virtue ethics is a character-centered approach to morality, asserting that right actions flow from good character traits or dispositions. This means becoming a good person through the cultivation of virtues, self-reflection, and self-perfection. In contrast, the ethics of conduct, which includes approaches like consequentialism and deontology, focuses on the actions themselves rather than the character of the person. These approaches determine the morality of an action based on the consequences (consequentialism) or adherence to moral rules or norms (deontology).
Problems with the Ethics of Conduct
One of the problems with the ethics of conduct, as pointed out by pluralists such as Sir William David Ross, is that they tend to oversimplify morality. Classic utilitarianism reduces ethical decisions to the pursuit of the greatest happiness principle, while deontology relies on the categorical imperative, suggesting that there are absolute moral rules. Ross argued that this simplification fails to capture the complex and pluralistic nature of human moral experience, where duties are not absolute but rather are context-dependent.