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Deontology

Deontology is an ethical theory that actions are morally right based on whether they adhere to a set of clear rules, rather than being based on the consequences of the actions. Immanuel Kant is considered the founder of deontological ethics. He proposed that morality comes from acting in accordance with duty and the categorical imperative, which is an unconditional moral law. For Kant, the only intrinsically good thing is a good will that acts from duty. Deontology focuses on intentions rather than consequences and holds that some moral duties are absolute.

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115 views15 pages

Deontology

Deontology is an ethical theory that actions are morally right based on whether they adhere to a set of clear rules, rather than being based on the consequences of the actions. Immanuel Kant is considered the founder of deontological ethics. He proposed that morality comes from acting in accordance with duty and the categorical imperative, which is an unconditional moral law. For Kant, the only intrinsically good thing is a good will that acts from duty. Deontology focuses on intentions rather than consequences and holds that some moral duties are absolute.

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rodel d. briones
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© © All Rights Reserved
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DEONTOLOGICAL

ETHICS
Rodel D. Briones
Deontological ethics, in What is
philosophy, ethical theories that
place special emphasis on the
The term deontology is derived
from the Greek deon, “duty,” and deontology?
relationship between duty and the logos, “science.”
morality of human actions.

Actions that obey these rules are


ethical, while actions that do not,
Deontology is a theory that
are not. This ethical theory is
suggests actions are good or bad
most closely associated with
according to a clear set of rules.
German philosopher, Immanuel
Kant.
Deontology

In deontological ethics an action is considered morally good because of some


characteristic of the action itself, not because the product of the action is good.

Deontological ethics holds that at least some acts are morally obligatory regardless of
their consequences for human welfare.

Descriptive of such ethics are such expressions as “Duty for duty’s sake,” “Virtue is its
own reward,” and “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
Deontology

By contrast, teleological ethics (also called consequentialist ethics or


consequentialism) holds that the basic standard of morality is precisely
the value of what an action brings into being.

Deontological theories have been termed formalistic, because their


central principle lies in the conformity of an action to some rule or law.
Who pioneered deontology?

The first great philosopher to define deontological principles was


Immanuel Kant, the 18th-century German founder of critical philosophy
(see Kantianism).

Kant held that nothing is good without qualification except a good will,
and a good will is one that wills to act in accord with the moral law and
out of respect for that law rather than out of natural inclinations.
Emmanuel Kant was born on April 22, 1724, in Konigsberg, Prussia, or what is now
Kaliningrad, Russia.

While tutoring, he published science papers, including "General Natural History and Life of
Theory of the Heavens" in 1755.
Emmanuel Kant
He spent the next 15 years as a metaphysics lecturer. In 1781, he published the first part
of Critique of Pure Reason.

He published more critiques in the years preceding his death on February 12, 1804, in
the city of his birth. Kant focused on ethics, the philosophical study of moral actions.

He proposed amoral law called the “categorical imperative,” stating that morality is
derived from rationality and all moral judgments are rationally supported.

What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong; there is no grey area.

Human beings are obligated to follow this imperative unconditionally if they are to
claim to be moral
Kant’s thoughts about deontology

Kant considered that formulation of


He saw the moral law as a categorical Thus, the supreme categorical the categorical imperative to be
imperative—i.e., an unconditional imperative is: “Act only on that equivalent to: “So act that you treat
command—and believed that its maxim through which you can at the humanity in your own person and in
content could be established by human same time will that it should become a the person of everyone else always at
reason alone. universal law.” the same time as an end and never
merely as means.”
Kant’s thoughts about deontology

In any event, Kant’s critics questioned


his view that all duties can be derived
The connection between those two
from a purely formal principle and
formulations, however, has never been
argued that, in his preoccupation with
entirely clear.
rational consistency, he neglected the
concrete content of moral obligation.
His work on personhood is an example of deontology in practice.
Kant believed the ability to use reason was what defined a Kant’s thoughts
person.
about deontology

From an ethical perspective, personhood creates a range of rights


and obligations because every person has inherent dignity –
something that is fundamental to and is held in equal measure by
each person.

Kant’s ethics isn’t the only example of deontology. Any system


involving a clear set of rules is a form of deontology, which is
why some people call it a “rule-based ethic”. The Ten
Commandments is an example, as is the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
Idea of deontology: Kant
Most deontologists say there are two different kinds of ethical duties,
perfect duties and imperfect duties. A perfect duty is inflexible. “Do not
kill innocent people” is an example of a perfect duty. You can’t obey it a
little bit – either you kill innocent people, or you don’t. There’s no middle-
ground.

Imperfect duties do allow for some middle ground. “Learn about the
world around you” is an imperfect duty because we can all spend different
amounts of time on education, and each be fulfilling our obligation. How
much we commit to imperfect duties is up to us.
Our reason for doing the right thing (which
Kant called a maxim) is also important. We
should do our duty for no other reason than Deontology
because it’s the right thing to do.

Obeying the rules for self-interest, because it will


lead to better consequences or even because it
makes us happy is not, for deontologists, an
ethical reason for acting. We should be
motivated by our respect for the moral law itself.
Deontology

Deontologists require us to follow universal rules we give to ourselves. These


rules must be in accordance with reason – in particular, they must be logically
consistent and not give rise to contradictions.

It is worth mentioning that deontology is often seen as being strongly opposed to


consequentialism. This is because in emphasising the intention to act in accordance with
our duties, deontology believes the consequences of our actions have no ethical relevance
at all. Political philosopher Michael Walzer gives a soundbite version of this idea –
“justice though the heavens fall”.
The appeal of deontology lies in
its consistency.
Deontology

By applying ethical duties to all people in all


situations the theory is readily applied to most
practical situations.

By focusing on a person’s intentions, it also places


ethics entirely within our control – we can’t always
control or predict the outcomes of our actions, but
we are in complete control of our intentions.
Deontology
Others criticize deontology for being inflexible – by ignoring what is at stake in terms of
consequences, some say it misses a serious element of ethical decision-making.

De-emphasising consequences has other implications too – can it make us guilty of ‘crimes of
omission’? Kant, for example, argued it would be unethical to lie about the location of our
friend, even to a person trying to murder them! For many, this seems intuitively false.

One way of resolving this problem is through an idea called threshold deontology, which
argues we should always obey the rules unless in an emergency situation, at which point we
should revert to a consequentialist approach.

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