Philosophy Deontological Ethics
Deontological Ethics in American History
"While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion" (George Washington). "Every man is under the natural duty of contributing to the necessities of the society" (Thomas Jefferson). "Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it" (Abraham Lincoln). "Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less" (General Robert E. Lee). Arguably Lee failed to do his duty as an officer in the US Army when he took command of the Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War.
THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE (1)
(The Principle of Autonomy) "Act in regard to all persons in ways that treat them as ends in themselves and never simply as means to accomplish the ends of others." THIS IS THE BASIS FOR THE ETHICS OF RESPECT AND A BASIS FOR THE ETHICS OF RIGHTS
THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE (2)
(The Principle of Universality) "Act only from those personal rules that you can at the same time will to be universal moral laws." THIS IS A BASIS FOR THE ETHICS OF RIGHTS
DUTY
A duty is something one is required to do. It is an obligation, a responsibility. We may have a variety of duties to others: • employers and employees • parents and children • citizens and government officials • God (?)
IMPERATIVES
An imperative is a command to act. It is prescriptive. There are two kinds of imperatives: HYPOTHETICAL imperatives CATEGORICAL imperatives
RIGHTS AND DUTIES
If we have a duty to protect our rights, we have a duty to protect the rights of others as well.
Advantages of Deontological Ethics:
Like social contract ethics, it has its origin in human beings, in their autonomy, their freedom and reason. One important argument against Kant's absolute moral rules has to do with the possibility of resolving cases of moral conflict. E.g., the "Case of the Inquiring Murderer" presents a conflict between the duty to preserve life and the duty to preserve truth.
RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Rights correlate with duties. • If I have a right, others have the duties to respect that right. • If I have a right by virtue of my autonomy, then others have rights as well, and I have a duty to respect those rights. While all rights correlate with duties, not all duties correlate with rights. • A legitimate right is a claim that can limit the freedom of others. • Some duties are determined by special roles that we have, and so do not directly correlate with others' rights.
What are my duties, according to reason?
To preserve reason. • To preserve truth. This duty is necessary to preserve reason. • To preserve life. This duty is necessary to preserve my reason. • To preserve freedom. This duty is necessary to preserve reason and the inquiry after truth.
Deontological ethics
is a tradition that, like natural law ethics, is non‐consequentialist. • It was most importantly expressed by Immanuel Kant.
• Immanuel Kant
was an 18th century German scholar, university professor, scientist, and philosopher. • Kant proposed a view of morality that was based on duty. (1724‐1804) • Kant is regarded as the author of deontological ethics.
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVES
• Are absolute and unconditional moral commands. • The form of a categorical imperative is: "You ought to X." (X = END‐IN‐ITSELF, without regards to MEANS or other ENDS) • An example of a categorical imperative is: "You ought to study [because you are a student]." Kant thought that moral judgments were categorical imperatives, or applications of one ultimate categorical imperative. But it comes in two types/forms.
HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVES
• Are commands that are not absolute, but conditional, and premised on one's desires. • The form of a hypothetical imperative is: "If you want Y, you ought to X." (Y = goal/consequence/end; X = means) • An example of a hypothetical imperative is: "If you want to pass this test, you ought to study
