Moral Thinkers & Philosophers: Western & Indian

1. Western Moral Philosophers

Cue Words	Notes
Socrates, Plato & Aristotle	Socrates: "An unexamined life is not worth living." Virtue is knowledge; evil is committed out of ignorance. Plato: Four Cardinal Virtues: Wisdom, Courage, Temperance, Justice. Concept of the Philosopher King. Aristotle: Virtue Ethics & Golden Mean (virtue is the balance between deficiency and excess, e.g., Courage between Cowardice and Foolhardiness). Concept of Eudaimonia (human flourishing).
Immanuel Kant (Deontology)	Categorical Imperative: Act only according to maxims that you can will to become universal laws. Treat humanity always as an end, never as a mere means. Duty for duty's sake (Deontology).
Utilitarianism (Bentham & J.S. Mill)	Jeremy Bentham: Quantitative Utilitarianism—hedonic calculus. "Greatest happiness of the greatest number." J.S. Mill: Qualitative Utilitarianism—distinguished higher (intellectual) pleasures from lower (sensual) pleasures. Introduced Rule Utilitarianism and Harm Principle.
Social Contract & John Rawls	Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau: Governance based on social contract between sovereign and citizens. John Rawls (Theory of Justice): Justice as Fairness. Formulated thought experiment of Veil of Ignorance in the Original Position. Difference Principle: Inequalities justified only if they benefit the least advantaged members of society.

2. Indian Moral Philosophers & Administrators

Cue Words	Notes
Kautilya (Arthashastra)	Reiterated King's happiness lies in the happiness of his subjects ("Praja sukhe sukham rajyah"). Stressed anti-corruption vigilance, spy network, and financial integrity of officials.
Thiruvalluvar (Tirukkural)	Taught ethical living, righteous governance (Aram), purity of means, compassion, and truthful administration.
Swami Vivekananda	Practical Vedanta: Service to mankind is service to God ("Jiva is Shiva"). Emphasized character-building education, strength, and selfless social service.
Mahatma Gandhi	Seven Social Sins: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Religion without sacrifice, Politics without principle. Core Concepts: Satyagraha, Ahimsa, Talasani / Talisman (evaluating actions by effect on poorest person), Trusteeship (wealthy hold wealth as trustees of society), and Purity of Means over Ends.
Rabindranath Tagore & Kabir	Tagore: Universal humanism, freedom of mind ("Where the mind is without fear"), critique of narrow nationalism. Kabir: Nirguna Bhakti; attacked religious hypocrisy, caste orthodoxy, and ritualism through simple couplets (Dohas).

3. Additional Thinkers: Confucius, Chanakya's Contemporaries & Modern Voices

Cue Words	Notes
Confucius (Confucianism)	Emphasized Ren (benevolence/humaneness) and the Golden Rule ("Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself"). Stressed filial piety, ritual propriety (Li), and virtuous rulership as the basis of social order — a comparative Eastern counterpart to Aristotelian virtue ethics.
B.R. Ambedkar	Championed constitutional morality, social justice, and annihilation of caste. His idea that "political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy" is a key exam-relevant articulation linking ethics to constitutional governance.
Amartya Sen (Capability Approach)	Contemporary philosopher-economist who reframed justice/ethics around real freedoms and capabilities (not just resource distribution) — relevant to modern GS4 answers on development ethics and inequality (Sen's The Idea of Justice, 2009).