Philosophy of ethics is based on a couple of main theories that were found by the philosophers of the past several thousand years. Two of the main theories are the Virtue Theory found by Aristotle and the Theory of Utilitarianism found by the British philosopher John Stuart Mill. The two of them have very different opinions on what happiness is to each human being and how we should live our lives to reach the ultimate happiness. It is understandable that the theories they each came up with are quite different because they happened to live over two thousand years apart and one would expect that the way people look at life would change over such a long period of time.
             Living couple of hundred years before common era and learning philosophy from Plato, Aristotle came up with the Virtue theory. He believed that the life of study was the most desirable way of life. Scholars, in his opinion, ultimately led the happiest and most productive life styles. To Aristotle, happiness was the activity of the rational part of the soul in accordance with virtue and the highest level of happiness could be achieved from the activity of the rational part of the soul in accordance with the virtue of thought.
             Virtues are conditions of the soul. Not all conditions of the soul can be called virtues. According to Aristotle, feelings are not virtues. He says that people do not get blamed or praised for their feelings but rather for their virtues and vises. Aristotle also mentions that when people display their feelings, they are said to be emotionally moved whereas when they display their virtues and vises, they are said to be in some condition that doesn't necessarily depend on feelings and emotions alone. Virtues to Aristotle are states of character that aim at the mean in feeling and action.
             British philosopher John Stuart Mill introduced the Theory of Utilitarianism to the world in the nineteenth century. His beliefs are also re...