DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICAL THEORY
CHAPTER 5
HISTORICAL ORIGIN
Early beginning of human civilization• The word of the king
is the law Deontological
Greek word “dein” or “deon” meaning“To be obligated” or simply “duty”
KANTS’ MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO DEONTOLOGICAL THEORY
IMMANUEL KANT
(1724-1804)
• Avid defender of deontological theory
• Contributed as many important and brilliant ideas to the philosophical study of ethics
THE GOOD WILLTHE CORE OF KANT’S ETHICS
• Morality of an action lies on the inner motive rather than the external effects
• Kants’ ethics primarily based on good will
• Duty must be done out of pure reverence to the moral law
DUTY OVER INCLINATION
“A person is only acting morallyonly when he suppresses
his feelings and inclinations and does that
which he is obliged to do”
INCLINATIONmeans doing the things
that one’s feels like doing, and thus no obligation exists.
EXPECTATION OF THE REWARD PITY DUTY
Immora l
EXAMPLE:Helping your neighbor to
fix her flat tire
Immora l Mora l
Three possible reasons of helping:
DUTY IS SUPERIOR TO HAPPINESS
“Our duties cannot consist simply infollowing rules that promote
pleasure and avoidance of painas the utilitarian’s claim,
since that would make right actions dependupon consequences,
on how well they satisfied our desires”
LYING
EXAMPLE:BREAKING PROMISES
THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
THE UNIVERSALIZABILITY PRINCIPLE
“Act only according to that maxim by which you can
at the same time will thatit should become a universal law”
•Maxim is a personal and subjective guiding principle•We must universalize our moral judgement
THE PRINCIPLE OF HUMANITY
(RESPECT FOR PERSONS)
• Also known as ’Principle of Ends’• Concerns respect for the
dignity of persons• Rational beings are ends
in themselves• Do not treat others as
means
AUTONOMY OF THE WILL
(KINGDOM OF ENDS)
“For without personal autonomy,Morality
becomes an impossibility”
AUTONOMOUS WILL
The will becomes autonomous when the genuinely moral actions are chosen:
Freely Rationally By The Self
(Autonomously)
It is a moral universe of the moral beings in which:
Respect For Intrinsic Worth
Respect For Value Of All Persons
is exercised by everyone.
KINGDOM OF ENDS