ABSTRACT
Normative ethics traditionally witnesses a clash between three major theories: deontology, an approach based on Kant’s belief that an action is morally justified if it can be universalized and is based on a sense of duty or respect for a principle; consequentialism—of which utilitarianism is a version—which asserts that an action is right if it produces the best consequences for the individuals concerned; and virtue ethics which, unlike the two earlier theories that assess actions on the basis of their rationality, judges the moral character of the person performing the action.
