Deontology

"Deontic" redirects here. For the linguistic term, seeLinguistic modality.

Not to be confused with the opposite ofontology.

Inmoral philosophy,deontological ethicsordeontology(fromGreek:δέον,'obligation, duty' +λόγος,'study') is thenormative ethicaltheory that themoralityof an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules and principles, rather than based on the consequences of the action.It is sometimes described asduty-,obligation-, or rule-based ethics.Deontological ethics is commonly contrasted toconsequentialism,utilitarianism,virtue ethics,andpragmatic ethics.In thisterminology,action is more important than the consequences.

The termdeontologicalwas first used to describe the current, specialised definition byC. D. Broadin his 1930 book,Five Types of Ethical Theory.Older usage of the term goes back toJeremy Bentham,who coined it prior to 1816 as asynonymofdicasticorcensorial ethics(i.e., ethics based on judgement).The more general sense of the word is retained inFrench,especially in the termcode de déontologie(ethical code), in the context ofprofessional ethics.

Depending on the system of deontological ethics under consideration, amoral obligationmay arise from an external or internal source, such as a set of rules inherent to the universe (ethical naturalism),religious law,or a set of personal or culturalvalues(any of which may be in conflict with personal desires).

Deontological philosophies

There are numerous formulations of deontological ethics.

Kantianism

Immanuel Kant

Main article:Kantian ethics

Immanuel Kant's theory of ethics is considered deontological for several different reasons.First, Kant argues that in order to act in the morally right way, people must act fromduty(Pflicht).Second, Kant argued that it was not the consequences of actions that make them right or wrong, but the motives of the person who carries out the action.

Kant's first argument begins with the premise that thehighest goodmust be both good in itself and good without qualification.Something is "good in itself"when it isintrinsically good;and is "good without qualification"when the addition of that thing never makes a situation ethically worse. Kant then argues that those things that are usually thought to be good, such asintelligence,perseverance,andpleasure,fail to be either intrinsically good or good without qualification. Pleasure, for example, appears not to be good without qualification, because when people take pleasure in watching someone suffer, this seems to make the situation ethically worse. He concludes that there is only one thing that is truly good:

Nothing in the world—indeed nothing even beyond the world—can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except agood will.

Kant then argues that the consequences of an act of willing cannot be used to determine that the person has a good will; good consequences could arise by accident from an action that was motivated by a desire to cause harm to an innocent person, and bad consequences could arise from an action that was well-motivated. Instead, he claims, a person has a good will when he "acts out of respect for the moral law."People "act out of respect for the moral law" when they act in some waybecausethey have a duty to do so. Thus, the only thing that is truly good in itself is a good will, and a good will is only good when the willer chooses to do something because it is that person's duty; i.e., out of respect for the law. He definesrespectas "the concept of a worth which thwarts myself-love."

Kant's three significant formulations of thecategorical imperativeare:

• Act only according to thatmaximby which you can also will that it would become auniversal law;
• Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end; and
• Every rational being must so act as if he were through his maxim always a legislating member in a universalkingdom of ends.

Kant argued that the onlyabsolutely goodthing is a good will, and so the single determining factor of whether an action is morally right is the will, or motive of the person doing it. If they are acting on a bad maxim—e.g., 'I will lie'—then their action is wrong, even if some good consequences come of it.

In his essay, "On a Supposed Right to Lie Because of Philanthropic Concerns",arguing against the position ofBenjamin Constant,Des réactions politiques,Kant states that:

Hence a lie defined merely as an intentionally untruthful declaration to another man does not require the additional condition that it must do harm to another, as jurists require in their definition (mendacium est falsiloquium in praeiudicium alterius). For a lie always harms another; if not some human being, then it nevertheless does harm to humanity in general, inasmuch as it vitiates the very source of right [Rechtsquelle].… All practical principles of right must contain rigorous truth.… This is because such exceptions would destroy the universality on account of which alone they bear the name of principles.

Divine command theory

Main article:Divine command theory

Although not all deontologists are religious, some believe in thedivine command theory,which is actually a cluster of related theories that essentially state that an action is right ifGodhas decreed that it is right.According to English philosopherRalph Cudworth,William of Ockham,René Descartes,and 18th-centuryCalvinistsall accepted various versions of this moral theory, as they all held that moral obligations arise from God's commands.

Thedivine command theoryis a form of deontology because, according to it, the rightness of any action depends upon that action being performed because it is a duty, not because of any good consequences arising from that action. If God commands people not to work onSabbath,then people act rightly if they do not work on Sabbathbecause God has commanded that they do not do so.If they do not work on Sabbath because they are lazy, then their action is not, truly speaking, "right" even though the actual physical action performed is the same. If God commands not tocoveta neighbour's goods, this theory holds that it would beimmoralto do so, even if coveting provides the beneficial outcome of a drive to succeed or do well.

One thing that clearly distinguishesKantian deontologismfrom divine command deontology is that Kantianism maintains that man, as a rational being, makes the moral law universal, whereas divine command maintains that God makes the moral law universal.

Ross's deontological pluralism

W. D. Rossobjects to Kant's monistic deontology, which bases ethics in only one foundational principle, thecategorical imperative.He contends that there is a plurality ofprima facie dutiesdetermining what is right.Some duties originate from our own previous actions, like theduty of fidelity(to keep promises and to tell the truth), and theduty of reparation(to make amends for wrongful acts). Theduty of gratitude(to return kindnesses received) arises from the actions of others. Other duties include theduty of non-injury(not to hurt others), theduty of beneficence(to promote the maximum of aggregate good), theduty of self-improvement(to improve one's own condition) and theduty of justice(to distribute benefits and burdens equably).One problem the deontological pluralist has to face is that cases can arise where the demands of one duty violate another duty, so-calledmoral dilemmas.For example, there are cases where it is necessary to break a promise in order to relieve someone's distress.Ross makes use of the distinction betweenprima facie dutiesandabsolute dutyto solve this problem.The duties listed above areprima facie duties;they are general principles whose validity is self-evident to morally mature persons. They are factors that do not take all considerations into account.Absolute duty,on the other hand, is particular to one specific situation, taking everything into account, and has to be judged on a case-by-case basis.It isabsolute dutythat determines which acts are right or wrong.

Contemporary deontology

Contemporarydeontologists (i.e., scholars born in the first half of the 20th century) includeJózef Maria Bocheński,Thomas Nagel,T. M. Scanlon,andRoger Scruton.

Bocheński (1965) makes a distinction betweendeonticandepistemicauthority:

• A typical example ofepistemic authorityin Bocheński's usage would be "the relation of a teacher to her students." A teacher has epistemic authority when making declarative sentences that the student presumes is reliable knowledge and appropriate but feels no obligation to accept or obey.
• An example ofdeontic authoritywould be "the relation between an employer and her employee." An employer has deontic authority in the act of issuing an order that the employee is obliged to accept and obey regardless of its reliability or appropriateness.

Scruton (2017), in his bookOn Human Nature,is critical ofconsequentialismand similar ethical theories, such ashedonismandutilitarianism,instead proposing a deontological ethical approach.He implies that proportionaldutyand obligation are essential components of the ways in which we decide to act, and he defendsnatural lawagainst opposing theories. He also expresses admiration forvirtue ethics,and believes that the two ethical theories are not, as is frequently portrayed, mutually exclusive.

Deontology and consequentialism

Further information:Trolley problem,Consequentialism,Utilitarianism,andEffective altruism

Principle of permissible harm

Frances Kamm's "Principle of Permissible Harm" (1996) is an effort to derive a deontological constraint that coheres with our considered case judgments while also relying heavily on Kant'scategorical imperative.The principle states that one may harm in order to save more if and only if the harm is an effect or an aspect of the greater good itself. This principle is meant to address what Kamm feels are most people's considered case judgments, many of which involve deontologicalintuitions.For instance, Kamm argues that we believe it would be impermissible to kill one person toharvest his organsin order to save the lives of five others. Yet, we think it is morally permissible to divert arunaway trolleythat would otherwise kill fiveinnocent,immobile people, onto asidetrackwhere only one innocent and immobile person will be killed. Kamm believes the Principle of Permissible Harm explains the moral difference between these and other cases, and more importantly expresses a constraint telling us exactly when we may not act to bring about good ends—such as in the organ harvesting case.

In 2007, Kamm publishedIntricate Ethics,a book that presents a new theory, the "Doctrine of Productive Purity",that incorporates aspects of her" Principle of Permissible Harm ".Like the "Principle", the "Doctrine of Productive Purity" is an attempt to provide a deontological prescription for determining the circumstances in which people are permitted to act in a way that harms others.

Reconciling deontology with consequentialism

Various attempts have been made to reconcile deontology withconsequentialism.Threshold deontology holds that rules ought to govern up to a point despite adverse consequences; but when the consequences become so dire that they cross a stipulated threshold, consequentialism takes over.Theories put forth byThomas NagelandMichael S. Mooreattempt to reconcile deontology with consequentialism by assigning each a jurisdiction.Iain King's 2008 bookHow to Make Good Decisions and Be Right All the Timeusesquasi-realismand a modified form ofutilitarianismto develop deontological principles that are compatible with ethics based onvirtuesand consequences. King develops ahierarchyof principles to link hismeta-ethics,which is more inclined towards consequentialism, with the deontological conclusions he presents in his book.

Secular deontology

Intuition-baseddeontology is a concept withinsecular ethics.A classical example of literature on secular ethics is theKural text,authored by the ancientTamilIndian philosopherValluvar.It can be argued that some concepts from deontological ethics date back to this text. Concerning ethical intuitionism, 20th century philosopherC.D. Broadcoined the term "deontological ethics" to refer to the normative doctrines associated with intuitionism, leaving the phrase "ethical intuitionism"free to refer to the epistemological doctrines.

See also

• Convention (norm)– Set of agreed, stipulated, or generally accepted standards
• Categorical imperative– Central concept in Kantian moral philosophy
• Deontic logic– Field of philosophical logic
• Deontological libertarianism– Political ideologyPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development– Psychological theory describing the evolution of moral reasoning
• Meta-ethics– Branch of ethics seeking to understand ethical propertiesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Moral responsibility– Concept in ethics
• Norm (philosophy)– Sentences used to effect an action
• Plank of Carneades– Thought experiment proposed by Carneades of Cyrene
• Rule according to higher law– Belief that universal principles of morality override unjust laws
• The Right and the Good– 1930 book by Scottish philosopher David Ross
• Divine command theory– Meta-ethical theory of morality
• Euthyphro dilemma– Ethical problem on the origin of morality posed by Socrates

References

Bibliography

• Beauchamp, Tom L.1991.Philosophical Ethics: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy(2nd ed.) New York:McGraw Hill.
• Broad, C. D.1930.Five Types of Ethical Theory.New York:Harcourt, Brace and Co.
• Flew, Antony.1979. "Consequentialism." InA Dictionary of Philosophy(2nd ed.). New York:St. Martin's.
• Kamm, Frances M.1996.Morality, Mortality Vol. II: Rights, Duties, and Status.New York:Oxford University Press.
• —— 2007.Intricate Ethics: Rights, Responsibilities, and Permissible Harm.Oxford:Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-518969-8,978-0-19-534590-2.
• Kant, Immanuel(1964).Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals.Harper and Row Publishers, Inc.ISBN978-0-06-131159-8.
• «Législation, éthique et déontologie», Bruxelles: Editions de Boeck Université, 2011, Karine BREHAUX,ISBN978-2-84371-558-7
• Olson, Robert G. 1967. "Deontological Ethics." InThe Encyclopedia of Philosophy,edited byP. Edwards.London:Collier Macmillan.
• Ross, W. D.1930.The Right and the Good.Oxford:Clarendon Press.
• Salzman, Todd A. 1995.Deontology and Teleology: An Investigation of the Normative Debate in Roman Catholic Moral Theology.University Press.
• Waller, Bruce N.2005.Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contemporary Issues.New York:Pearson Longman.
• Wierenga, Edward. 1983. "A Defensible Divine Command Theory."Noûs17(3):387–407.

External links

• Kantian Ethics – SummaryA concise summary of the key details of Kant's deontology
• Freedom and the Boundary of Morals,Lecture 22 from Stephen Palmquist's book,The Tree of Philosophy(fourth edition, 2000).
• Deontology and Ethical Ends
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Special Obligations
• Log in to ePortfolios@FedUni – ePortfolios@FedUniDeontology framework ethics