On completion of this chapter, the reader should be able to do the following:

LO 2.1: Understand the major approaches to ethical reasoning.

LO 2.2: Identify the strengths and limitations of utilitarianism as an ethical philosophy.

LO 2.3: Identify the strengths and limitations of deontology as an ethical philosophy.

LO 2.4: Recognize the contradictions and conflicts between utilitarianism and deontology and move toward reconciling their differences using the weight-of-reasons framework for ethical decision-making.

LO 2.5: Discuss the tenets of virtue ethics, understanding how it differs from deontology and utilitarianism.

LO 2.6: Discuss the role of contract theory and the ethics of care in working through the differences between utilitarianism and deontology