An Introduction to Deontological Ethics

As opposed to the Teleological ethicist who takes the consequences of an action into consideration to determine if the action is right or wrong, the Deontologist never looks to the consequences. The ends never justify the means, to put it in the more pithy formulation. Whether good or bad consequences follow from an action is morally irrelevant. A right action will always be right, a wrong action will always be wrong no matter if the consequences bring pleasure or pain. The big question for a Deontologist is "What is it that causes actions to be right or wrong?"

The word 'deontological' is derived from the Greek terms 'deon' which means "duty" or "obligation" and 'logos' which means "logic" or "reason." Hence, 'deontological' means "thinking rationally about duties."

Definition: Deontological Ethics - Any moral theory which holds that the moral status of an action is determined by some intrinsic feature of the act itself.

Deontological Ethics divides into two main camps: those who think moral obligations are derived from the nature of human action and choice, and those who think morality is derived from a set of objective moral rules.

  1. Act Deontology - Human action and choice determines moral obligation

    1. Situational Ethics (sometimes called "Intuitionism") - Each situation is morally unique and calls for an exercise of one's moral intuition.

    2. Existentialist Ethics - Moral obligations are created by the choice we make. To be moral is to live authentically (i.e., consistently) with the choices we make.

    We're not going to spend any time with the Act Deontological theories because their advocates are fairly rare. Instead we'll focus on the more common type of Deontological theory the "rule based" type. The vast majority of deontologists fall into this second category.

  2. Rule Deontology -

    1. The Divine Command Theory - Whatever God commands is right.

    2. Kantianism (sometimes called the "Categorical Duties Theory) - Moral obligations are determined by reason

We will explore the Divine Command Theory and Kantianism by reading a selection from Plato's dialogue the Euthyphro and a section of Kant's The Foundations of the Metaphysic of Morals.

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