Compared side by side, how do virtue ethics, duty ethics and consequentialist ethics differ?

Question

Accepted Answer

They ask what kind of person to be, what one is obliged to do, and what results to bring about — and correspondingly locate ethical behaviour in character, in duty, and in outcomes.

Virtue / disposition ethics
Duty ethics
Consequentialist ethics

The question
What kind of person should I be (or try to be), and what will my actions show about my character?
What are my obligations in this situation, and what are the things I should never do?
What kind of results should I achieve (or try to produce)?

Focus
Tries to identify the character traits — virtues and vices — that might motivate the people involved
Directs attention to the duties that exist prior to the situation, and determines the obligations
Directs attention to the future effects of an action on everyone directly or indirectly affected

Ethical behaviour is
What a fully virtuous person would do in these circumstances
Always doing the right thing: one may never fail to do one's duty
The action that has the best consequences

Aim / motivation
To develop one's own character
To carry out the right action
To do the best

Short form
Will the good, follow your conscience
Do what duty requires, out of duty
Achieve the good, attend to the consequences

Read the "focus" row in time order and the structure becomes memorable: duty ethics looks backwards to obligations that already existed before the situation arose, consequentialism looks forwards to effects, and virtue ethics looks sideways at the person standing in the middle.
Tip: Character – Duty – Outcome. Or in the German triad: Können – Sollen – Wollen.
Go deeper:

Wikipedia: Normative ethics — the same three-way comparison from a different angle, plus the families this table leaves out.

	Virtue / disposition ethics	Duty ethics	Consequentialist ethics
The question	What kind of person should I be (or try to be), and what will my actions show about my character?	What are my obligations in this situation, and what are the things I should never do?	What kind of results should I achieve (or try to produce)?
Focus	Tries to identify the character traits — virtues and vices — that might motivate the people involved	Directs attention to the duties that exist prior to the situation, and determines the obligations	Directs attention to the future effects of an action on everyone directly or indirectly affected
Ethical behaviour is	What a fully virtuous person would do in these circumstances	Always doing the right thing: one may never fail to do one's duty	The action that has the best consequences
Aim / motivation	To develop one's own character	To carry out the right action	To do the best
Short form	Will the good, follow your conscience	Do what duty requires, out of duty	Achieve the good, attend to the consequences