Buddhist Ethics and Bentham, Kant and Aristotle: A Summary

Author: Ruth Wood

This post will discuss to what extent Buddhist ethics could be considered to be either deontological, teleological or consequentialist in nature. This post summarises what can be found in my previous three posts, "Creating a Dialogue" with ethics. 

In the AQA Dialogues Paper, it is your job to become the scholar and decide whether Buddhism is compatible with the Western theories prescribed for study. Due to the vast differences in context, this is often difficult to do. It is therefore your job to show the examine what the points of similarity are, whilst also making it clear that you understand that these approaches are and should be seen separately. 

Use the below summary points to help you consider to what extent Buddhism could be characterised as one of the below theories:

Buddhist ethics are deontological because:

-        There are set rules that are always right or wrong. For example, it is always wrong to break the five precepts, and it is always wrong to perform actions that undermine the sangha, such as falsely claiming enlightenment and supernatural powers.

-        Buddhists believe that beings receive karmic rewards regardless of their form in Samsara – for example, animals will still receive bad karma when they act on their own instinct. This shows that the systems that exist in Buddhism imply that certain actions (such as killing) are always right and wrong.

-        Buddhists agree that humans are able to understand, through their own ability for wisdom and reason, what constitutes moral behaviour. This is evident in the fact that the Buddha encouraged the cultivation of prajna and also encouraged people to test ethical ideas for themselves.

Buddhist ethics are teleological/consequentialist because:

-        Karma shows that Buddhist ethics have teleological aspects: immoral actions can be seen as ones which cause dukkha, leading to the punishment of negative karmic experiences within Samsara.

-        Buddhists are required to consider the effects of their behaviour on other beings to determine their morality – this is particularly true when it comes to ahimsa, which dictates how the embryo, animals and people in wars should be treated.

-        Buddhists believe that through practising magga, which focuses on cultivating prajna (wisdom) and sila (morality) people will come to a place where they will understand and choose to behave in a way that is selfless. This leads them to the eventual teleological goal of attaining enlightenment and experiencing the end of human suffering, like Utilitarianism which suggests the possibility of a Utopian future where everyone acts in a way that ensures pleasure for other people. 

Buddhist ethics are character based because:

-        There is a focus on perfecting one’s character over time – this is evidenced in the way that magga is seen as a way of life that is perfected gradually (compared to the way that the petals of a flower all support each other in opening up, the stages of magga work together to lead people to moral, wise and effortful lives). This is also evident in Aristotle’s emphasis on learning from one’s mistakes.

-        There is emphasis on following a virtuous teacher – it is not unreasonable to assume that Aristotle would support people following Gautama, providing that they are focused on perfecting their moral character.

-        There is an emphasis on right actions and the personality that these actions show – the teaching of rebecoming in Samsara supports the idea that one’s personality is conditioned by our previous behaviour, and the only way to live an ethical life is to overcome negative patterns and behave in a more moral way.