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GS4 · Module 4 of 15

Western Moral Thinkers – UPSC GS4

This module of the GS Paper 4: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude course covers socrates, plato, aristotle, kant, bentham and mill, rawls, nozick, sen and the ethics of care. It has 4 study lessons and a 32-question practice quiz. Free lessons can be read in full; premium lessons show a preview.

Lessons in this module

1. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle: Virtue Ethics

Free 8 min

Western moral philosophy begins in Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE with three linked thinkers: Socrates (teacher), Plato (his student) and Aristotle (Plato's student). Their central question was not "what rule should I…

2. Kant and Deontology: Duty, Dignity and the Categorical Imperative

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Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), a German philosopher from Königsberg, built the most influential duty-based or deontological ethics (from Greek *deon*, duty). For Kant, an action is right not because of its results but because it follows…

3. Utilitarianism: Bentham and Mill

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Utilitarianism says the right action is the one that produces the greatest happiness of the greatest number. It is the main form of consequentialism – judging actions by their results. Developed in Britain by Jeremy…

4. Justice and Care: Social Contract, Rawls, Nozick, Sen and Gilligan

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Beyond individual ethics, GS4 asks how a society should distribute rights, opportunities and resources fairly. This lesson covers the social contract thinkers (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau), modern theories of justice (Rawls, Nozick, Sen, Nussbaum), and the…

Module quiz: Western Moral Thinkers (32 questions)

Maps & infographics in this module

Tree diagram linking Plato's three parts of the soul – reason, spirit and appetite – to philosopher-kings, auxiliaries and producers — Justice is harmony in the soul and in the State.

Table of Aristotle's doctrine of the mean showing virtues between deficiency and excess for fear, money, honour, anger and truth — Virtue is a balance found by practical wisdom.

Timeline from the birth of Socrates around 470 BCE to Aristotle founding the Lyceum in 335 BCE — Teacher, student and student's student.

Flow chart of Kant's universal law test: state the maxim, universalise it, check for contradiction and willingness, then judge — Try it on accepting a "small" gift.

Three cards on Kant's formulas of universal law, humanity and autonomy — Dignity, not price, is the core idea.

Table comparing deontology and consequentialism on right action, focus, rights, strength and weakness — Use duties as limits and outcomes for choices.

Frequently asked questions

Lessons: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle: Virtue Ethics; Kant and Deontology: Duty, Dignity and the Categorical Imperative; Utilitarianism: Bentham and Mill; Justice and Care: Social Contract, Rawls, Nozick, Sen and Gilligan.

Answer: Socrates. At his trial.

Answer: Compassion. Temperance is the fourth.

Answer: Flourishing or living well. Aristotle.

Answer: Cowardice and rashness. Mean between vices.