...Marget Philosophy 101 Professor Smith 11/7/2014 Deontology Deontology is a view to Ethics which main focus is on what is right and what is wrong about one’s actions. In Deontology, deciding whether or not a situation is good or bad depends on how the action that caused the situation is right or wrong. In Deontology what is “right” is more important than what is “good”. Deontology believes that ethical rules “bind” people to their “duty”. The word "deontology" itself comes from the Greek "deon" meaning "obligation" or "duty". Deontology was first introduced by Immanuel Kant. The strongest argument for Deontology came from Kant himself. He said that the “highest good” must be essentially “good” and that “thing” can never make something worse. Kant argues that we are subject to moral judgment because we are able to contemplate and give reasons for our actions, so moral judgment should be directed at the reasons for our actions. Though it’s important to make sure our actions make for good consequences, the very consequences of our actions are not liable to our reasons, meaning, our reasoning is not completely responsible for the consequences in which our actions produce. Reasoning is only liable for supporting certain actions, that way only our actions themselves and the motives behind our actions are subject to moral judgment and it is only the actions, and the motives our actions, that are open to moral judgment. So, Kant concluded that there is only one thing...
Words: 628 - Pages: 3
...Deontology & Slavery PHI208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Deontological ethics is a moral theory that is somewhat agreeable and sympathetic to human rights. Deontology focuses not on the consequences of actions but on the duties we have; and one man’s rights are another man’s duties. Deontology is based on the idea that good consequences do not override our duties. Doing the right thing is more important than increasing the good in society. The idea is that if you do the right thing versus what is good for society ultimately it will become what is good for society. Deontology does not accept slavery. Humans should be treated as objects of intrinsic moral value; that is, as ends in themselves and never as a mere means to some other end. We are not to enslave torture or murder one person even if that would increase total welfare. Respecting people’s right to be free is not simply good to do because you will be condemned if you don’t. It’s also more than the proper thing to do. It’s not just something that is strongly logical or something that you should do. Deontology is based on duties. A duty is specific and is something you must do. In all of my research I find that deontological ethics is widely against slavery in every way. Whether is against slavery because of the action or the consequence you will find that no form of deontology supports slavery. Based on Immanuel Kant’s ideal justice would always be safeguarded for individuals who are always “ends in themselves”...
Words: 754 - Pages: 4
...Deontology — Claudio Toro 2010/11/19 20:16 We all talk about what is right or wrong. Some think about why is it that way, or how it should be instead. Following said train of thought, philosophers from different eras have come up with different theories and genealogies. From these ideas emerge ideologies like utilitarianism, the Aristotelian virtue ethics, and deontology. This essay will try to give a short introduction to the latter one, explaining its basis and its most famous proponents. The cornerstone of deontology (from the Greek “deon” , which means duty or obligation) is that deciding upon what is right or not for any situation should be based on a preconceived set of rules and our duty to follow them, disregarding any possible consequences. Many of us abide to a set of regulations which we try not to betray, like for example “do not lie.” However, this maxim is often twisted by the moral agent to fit the current situation. A deontologist would not do that. If I were to subscribe to the deontological doctrine, my rule (in this case “do not lie”) would be constant and invariable, applying it by the letter in every context. It is easy to see that this view on morality is absolutist, leaving no space for exceptions, and it is this feature that makes this theory as old as human history: “when the word of the chief, or the king, or God, was given unconditionally and without invitation to appeal on the basis of consequences”1). But deontology is not a one-way-only...
Words: 1500 - Pages: 6
...to the most members of a society. Utilitarianism is thus often considered a 'consequentialist' philosophical outlook because it both believes that outcomes can be predicted and because it judges actions based on their outcomes. Thus, utilitarianism is often associated with the phrase 'the ends justify the means.' Deontology: Deontology is an alternative ethical system that is usually attributed to the philosophical tradition of Immanuel Kant. Whereas utilitarianism focuses on the outcomes, or ends, of actions, deontology demands that the actions, or means, themselves must be ethical. Deontologists argue that there are transcendent ethical norms and truths that are universally applicable to all people. Deontology holds that some actions are immoral regardless of their outcomes; these actions are wrong in and of themselves. Kant gives a 'categorical imperative' to act morally at all times. The categorical imperative, in its most widely used formulation, demands that humans act as though their actions would be universalized into a general rule of nature. Kant believes that all people come to moral conclusions about right and wrong based on rational thought. Deontology is roughly associated with the maxim 'the means must justify the ends.' The conflict illustrated: A classic example illustrates the conflict between these two ethical systems. Suppose an evil villain holds you and ten other people at gunpoint and tells you that she will kill all ten of your fellow prisoners unless...
Words: 666 - Pages: 3
...Deontology comes from the Greek work for obligation or duty. (Mosser, 2013) Deontology sits in the normative category because it ignores the acts consequences while justifying if the act is good, bad, right, wrong or stays neutral. Deontology focuses on the duty and obligation you have to act in the right manner and not focus on the consequence of your action. According to deontology those that are in danger of loss of life they should not pull the plug or remove ones self from life support equipment because the morality of the decision will be judged on the morality of the action not the consequence. When applying deontology end of life medical issues then there is only a right or a wrong action, there is no middle ground. Removal of life support is therefore either right or wrong. Absolute deontologists would sat that a good way to look at this act would be to not focus on intentions or consequences but instead only focus on the act itself. The act of terminating life support or pulling the plug and euthanasia ends a life. Ending a life is called murder whether it was voluntary or not. It is the act that is judged not the intentions or consequence. If a person tries to end their own life via whatever means they choose is still murder but its called suicide. Murder and suicide and even attempted suicide are all bad words that have no good things stemming from them no matter how you could twist the definition. These words are considered bad because they are and it takes...
Words: 737 - Pages: 3
...Deontology: ethics, especially the branch dealing with duty, moral obligation, and right action. Kant's moral deontology is developed around a notion of a good will (acting from the morally proper motive) First, Kant explains that there is what he believes "a moral law." In that, actions must be done from a sense of duty if they are to have moral worth. He says the only good thing that exists without qualifications is a good will (or good intentions). He says that other things bring about the idea of goodness but are not actually good. For instance, happiness is good! But because happiness could potentially cause someone else to be unhappy, it's not really good. So basically his idea of the "good will" is that you should do the right thing only for the reason that it is the right thing, not because it makes you happy, not for personal gain and not because of your own inclinations. This leads into his categorical imperative theory. Kant says that you should always act so that you can will the rule of your action to be a universal law. It shouldn't be that you want to accomplish something for something, it should just be that you want to accomplish something. Four main principles of the categorical imperative theory 1: Treat everyone as an end, rather than the means. Don't use people 2:Our free will is practical. 3: Act as though your will is universal law 4: Value should not be put on a human life If everyone treated each other this way, we will have achieved "The...
Words: 417 - Pages: 2
...TELEOLOGY and DEONTOLOGY You ever heard the saying “the ends justify the means”? What exactly does this mean? Well it means just because you do something bad as long as the result is good the action can be forgiven. If one man kills another man he is a murderer. But what if the man he killed, killed others? Or done worse crimes? Was he a rapist? Possibly, and if he is then was his actions justified? The saying does say if the result is good the action is justified but how good of a result does it have to be? If you rob a bank and give the money to the less fortunate is that justified? How about killing one to save the lives of many? Let’s use teleology and deontology to help us figure this out. First let’s define what deontology and teleology mean. The word deontology comes from the Greek roots deon, which means duty, and logos, which means science. Which means deontology is the "science of duty." Deontology focuses on independent moral rules or duties. In order to make the correct moral choices, we simply have to understand what our moral duties are and what correct rules help us regulate those duties. The word teleology comes from the Greek roots telos, which means end, and logos, which means science. Which means teleology is the "science of ends." Teleology focuses on the consequences which our actions might have. When we make choices which result in the correct consequences, then we are acting morally. When we make choices which result in the incorrect consequences, then...
Words: 672 - Pages: 3
...Kant introduced the idea of deontological ethics. Deontology views morality based on its accordance to duties, accepted norms, and motives. From a deontological perspective, something is moral acceptable if you can justify your actions with a legitimate purpose or a principle of responsibility. Kant created what is known as the categorical imperative, which is known as his famous statement to these duties of deontology. Kant’s categorical imperative uses two principle formulations. These formulations are universal law and the formula of the end itself. The formula of universal law is the staple of Kant’s ethical theory. This is because this law is the method for determining morality of actions. The philosophy of deontology states that in order to determine if something is morally correct, we must first rule out every consequence caused by the current action. This is because, in deontology consequences are irrelevant, as deontology mainly focuses on the motives of ones actions. This is because Kant believes that good will is the only matter of moral significance. The outcome is of no consequence and isn’t even considered an option when evaluating a situation. Things such as courage, knowledge and power can become bad if they are used with wrongful intentions. Topics that Kant discusses are lying and promise keeping. He believes that it is acceptable to not keep a promise, only if the promise was made with the intention and expectation of keeping it. As for lying, the categorical...
Words: 323 - Pages: 2
...Deontology is a theory discussed by Immanuel Kants that almost goes against utilitarianism. Unlike utilitarianism which focuses on consequence with no consideration of the action to determine its moral worth, deontology does the exact opposite and believes that the actions should be the deciding factor of morality. Thus, in deontology, an action is independent of the consequences. This brings up the idea of “the good will” where there are specific actions that are considered entirely ‘good’. The good will is based entirely on reason, thus actions that are considered good are particular traits that are good when considered on their own. These actions or characteristics, may be moral by themselves, but can become corrupt if performed or held...
Words: 1720 - Pages: 7
...Deontology Paper – Personal Foul Group: Ana, Chris, Konrad Team: Star Dragon Ultra Fortress The objective of this paper is to determine the permissibility of three moral actions discussed in the media piece “Personal Foul” based upon the negative and positive tests contained within the ethical theory of Deontology. To put it briefly, the moral basis of Deontology originates from universally binding transcultural rules, or duties, which all humans share. Because of this, the moral nature of an action is established by how closely an action follows the rules and not the resulting consequences. Additionally, this paper shall assume the universalization principle as a means to objectively view the actions of the individuals. The universalization principle is the concept...
Words: 533 - Pages: 3
...Skip to Navigation Skip to Content TermPaperWarehouse.com - Free Term Papers, Essays and Research Documents The Research Paper Factory Join Search Browse Saved Papers Search Home page » Business and Management Compare And Contrast Utilitarianism And DeontologyIn: Business and Management Compare And Contrast Utilitarianism And Deontology Compare and contrast utilitarianism and deontology. Utilitarianism is the principle that the correct form of action be taken to benefit the greatest number of people. Deontology is defined as the area of ethics involving the responsibility, moral duty and commitment. Both utilitarianism and deontology deal with the ethics and consequences of one’s actions and behavior despite the outcome. To contrast utilitarianism and deontology, utilitarianism summarized is making the right decision followed by the right actions that has the best outcome for the largest number of individuals. Deontology is the understanding and practice that there is a respect for life, fairness, and honesty despite the consequences and no matter the affect on the minority or majority of people affected. Explain whether you agree or disagree that there should be a difference between the treatment of prospective as opposed to current employees where drug testing is concerned. I agree that there should be a difference between the treatment of prospective as opposed to current employees where drug testing is concerned. I do that if an individual whether...
Words: 372 - Pages: 2
...Phil 216 Our world has evolved in so many ways over the years, both physically and intelligently. We as human beings have evolved right along with it. When we think of sciences, we immediately think about how things work, and how the human mind “works”; but when we think about being morally philosophical, we think what humans ought to be and what they out to think. These ideas lead into philosopher Joshua Greene’s views on deontology vs. consequences. Ultimately Greene thinks there is no external fact about what is right or wrong but the best we can do is be consistent with our values as they are. So, what does this mean? One good example is the infamous “trolley example” where there are 5 people standing on the track and they are about to be hit by the trolley, and there is another track with one person standing on the tracks, and you have the choice to “pull the switch” so the trolley goes to the other track saving the 5 people but resulting in killing the one other person. Many people say they would pull the switch because they would be saving 5 people instead of just one. But, if you made the situation more personal, and up front where you would push a person in front of the trolley in order to slow the trolley down and to save the other 5 people, a lot more people said they wouldn’t push the person and just let things take its own course. Now why would this have changed if it is the same scenario, just different ways to do it? Greene views it as, people tend to act...
Words: 1521 - Pages: 7
...Compare and contrast utilitarianism and deontology. Utilitarianism is the principle that the correct form of action be taken to benefit the greatest number of people. Deontology is defined as the area of ethics involving the responsibility, moral duty and commitment. Both utilitarianism and deontology deal with the ethics and consequences of one’s actions and behavior despite the outcome. To contrast utilitarianism and deontology, utilitarianism summarized is making the right decision followed by the right actions that has the best outcome for the largest number of individuals. Deontology is the understanding and practice that there is a respect for life, fairness, and honesty despite the consequences and no matter the affect on the minority or majority of people affected. Explain whether you agree or disagree that there should be a difference between the treatment of prospective as opposed to current employees where drug testing is concerned. I agree that there should be a difference between the treatment of prospective as opposed to current employees where drug testing is concerned. I do that if an individual whether they are a prospective or current employee and are abusing drugs than they should not be employed especially if there impairment could be a hazard. However, I do feel that current employees should be offered some type of drug treatment to help them with any drug issue that they might have. I don’t feel as if this should be offered to prospective...
Words: 633 - Pages: 3
...Compare and contrast utilitarianism and deontology. Utilitarianism is the principle that the correct form of action be taken to benefit the greatest number of people. Deontology is defined as the area of ethics involving the responsibility, moral duty and commitment. Both utilitarianism and deontology deal with the ethics and consequences of one’s actions and behavior despite the outcome. To contrast utilitarianism and deontology, utilitarianism summarized is making the right decision followed by the right actions that has the best outcome for the largest number of individuals. Deontology is the understanding and practice that there is a respect for life, fairness, and honesty despite the consequences and no matter the affect on the minority or majority of people affected. Explain whether you agree or disagree that there should be a difference between the treatment of prospective as opposed to current employees where drug testing is concerned. I agree that there should be a difference between the treatment of prospective as opposed to current employees where drug testing is concerned. I do that if an individual whether they are a prospective or current employee and are abusing drugs than they should not be employed especially if there impairment could be a hazard. However, I do feel that current employees should be offered some type of drug treatment to help them with any drug issue that they might have. I don’t feel as if this should be offered to...
Words: 303 - Pages: 2
...The moral theory that best describes the first version is “Deontology”. It is the most appropriate interpretation because deontology is non-consequentialist. Moral conduct follows duties or obligations. The moral principles are completely separated from any consequences. Consequences are not clearly thought out nor are the primary focus of the rules. There are a lot of situations that the first version would not be a decent fit for regular life. An illustration of one of those situations is if somebody's ethics are, “One should always answer honestly” What would happen if a dacoit asks robot to tell where a particular individual is or what the garage passcode is? The robot cannot tell the dacoit where the individual is because that would be...
Words: 452 - Pages: 2
