Moral Thinkers — Quick Revision

One table per tradition, one line per thinker, plus the “use it for” column that turns a name into marks.

Three Families of Ethics

Family	Question	Thinkers	Use it for
Virtue	Who should I be?	Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Confucius	Character, integrity, leadership by example
Duty	What must I do?	Kant	Rights, dignity, consistency
Consequence	What will happen?	Bentham, Mill	Policy trade-offs, welfare
Justice	Is it fair to the worst-off?	Rawls	Affirmative action, welfare design
Care	Who depends on me?	Gilligan	Compassion, the vulnerable

Thinker	Work and date	Key idea	Use it for
Socrates	(via Plato’s Apology)	Virtue is knowledge; examined life	Self-reflection
Plato	Republic	Four virtues; philosopher-king; Ring of Gyges	Integrity; trained guardians
Aristotle	Nicomachean Ethics	Eudaimonia; golden mean; habit; practical wisdom	Character-building; balance
Confucius	Analects	Ren, li, junzi; rule by example	Ethical leadership
Machiavelli	The Prince	Preservation of the State; realism	Means-ends debates
Hobbes	Leviathan (1651)	Sovereign for security	Rule of law
Locke	Two Treatises (1689)	Natural rights; consent	Limited government
Rousseau	The Social Contract (1762)	General will	Participation
Kant	Groundwork (1785)	Categorical imperative; persons as ends	Dignity; universalisability test
Bentham	Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789)	Greatest happiness; felicific calculus	Cost-benefit thinking
Mill	On Liberty (1859); Utilitarianism	Higher pleasures; harm principle	Limits of State coercion
Rawls	A Theory of Justice (1971)	Veil of ignorance; difference principle	Policy for the least advantaged
Gilligan	In a Different Voice (1982)	Ethics of care	Compassionate administration

Thinker / text	Key idea	Use it for
Ashoka	Dhamma after Kalinga (Rock Edict XIII)	Welfare, tolerance, remorse and reform
Buddha	Eightfold Path; Middle Path; karuna	Compassion, right livelihood, equanimity
Mahavira	Five vows; anekantavada	Non-possession; tolerance of viewpoints
Bhagavad Gita	Nishkama karma; lokasangraha	Duty without fear or favour
Kautilya	Welfare as rajadharma; Saptanga; upadha; checks on embezzlement	Probity, vigilance, welfare State
Thiruvalluvar	Tirukkural — Aram, Porul, Inbam	Qualities of a just ruler
Basavanna	Kayaka, Dasoha, Anubhava Mantapa	Dignity of labour; deliberation
Guru Nanak	Remember, earn honestly, share	Honest income; equality
Vivekananda	Service as worship	Selfless service
Tagore	Universal humanism	Freedom of thought
Gandhi	Truth, ahimsa, purity of means, trusteeship, sarvodaya	Means-ends; CSR; pro-poor policy
Ambedkar	Constitutional morality; three warnings (1949)	Institutions; social democracy
Amartya Sen	Capabilities; niti vs nyaya	Human development; outcomes over rules

High-yield lines (safe to quote)

Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato’s Apology).
Hobbes: life without government “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”.
Rousseau: “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”
Mill: “better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”.
Rawls: “Justice is the first virtue of social institutions.”
Gandhi: “The means may be likened to a seed, the end to a tree” (Hind Swaraj, 1909).
Ambedkar: constitutional morality “has to be cultivated” (1948).