A cursor is defined and used within the scope of a stored procedure where a view is a database object (similar to a table), which can be used even outside of stored procedures i.e. in queries.
Reference: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B28359_01/server.111/b28318/schema.htm#i20690 http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/issue-archive/2013/13-mar/o23plsql-1906474.html
Also look at http://tech.queryhome.com/144629/what-is-the-difference-between-a-view-and-a-cursor?show=144776#a144776
