DEON TO L O GI C AL ET H I CS

HY“ O F PROP ORTION AL IT Y

THE “W
WHY: The WHY is the reason of acting; it is
known as purpose or the aim of acting. It is
“deontological” in its approach. Deontology
means the “logos’’’ which is reason of ‘’deon’’
which is duty or responsibility.
•Derived from the greek word “deon” meaning “duty”
•Deontology is a category of normative ethical theories
that encompasses any theory which is primarily
concerned with adherence to certain rules or duties.
•Consequences do NOT matter!
•Intention is relevant. I am acting a certain way only if I
act for the right reason.
KANTIAN ETHICS
Kant's theory is an example of a deontological or duty-based ethics : it judges
morality by examining the nature of actions and the will of agents rather than goals
achieved
A deontological theory looks at inputs rather than outcomes
One reason for the shift away from consequences to duties is that we cannot
control the future. We are praised or blamed for actions within our control, and that
includes our willing, not our achieving.
This is not to say that Kant did not care about the outcomes of our actions--we all
wish for good things
Kant insisted that as far as the moral evaluation of our actions was
concerned, consequences did not matter.
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVES

A categorical imperative is unconditional.

It says “you should do Y”
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: “If you

want to get a good job, then you ought to go to
college”

It is implied here that the rule or maxim is that

students are supposed to study… the end.
MAXIM:

1.“Act in such wise as to will that your actions be made

into a universal law”
2.“Do not treat others as means but ends”
EXPRESSION: GOLDEN RULE

“Treat others as you would

like them to treat you.”
•Argument: Reason commands reason obeys, and it
must be universal and unquestionable. Treat people as
ends not means to an end.
•Counter-Argument: Reason not emotion is the basis
of judgement which is not always the case; Kant’s
approach is not easy if applied to complex situations –
Lie vs. protection.
 4 CENTRAL DUTY THEORIES
1.Championed Theory

•SAMUEL PUFENDORF (17 century German philosopher)

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•He classified dozen of duties under 3 headings:

• Duties to God
• Duties to Oneself
• Duties to Others
•Two kinds of duties towards God:
•A theoretical duty to know the existence and nature of God.
•A practical duty to both inwardly and outwardly worship God.

•Two sorts of duties towards Oneself:

•Duties of the soul, which involve developing one’s skills and
talents.
•Duties of the body, which involves not harming our bodies, as
we might through gluttony or drunkenness, and not killing
oneself.
•Three sorts of absolute duties towards others:
•avoid wronging others.
•Treat people as equals.
•Promote the good of others.
2.Rights Theory

•John Locke (17 century British philosopher)

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•He argued that the laws of nature mandate that we should

not harm anyone’s life, health, liberty or possessions.
•For locke, these are our natural rights, given to us by God.
Most generally, “right” is a justified claims against another
person’s behavior – such as my right to not be harmed by you.
Rights and duties are related to each other in such a way that
the rights of one person implies the duties of another person.
Example:
I have a right to payment of 10 pesos by Pedro, then
Pedro has a duty to pay me 10 pesos.
This is called the correlativity of rights and duties.
4 features traditionally associated with moral rights
•Rights are natural insofar as they are not invented or created
by governments.
•They are universal insofar as they do not change from country
to country.
•They are equal in the sense that rights are the same for all
people, irrespective of gender, race, or handicap.
•They are inalienable which means that “I cannot hand over
my rights to another person, such as by selling myself into
salvery.”
3.Single Principle Duty (Emanuel Kant)
•Kant agreed that we have moral duties to oneself and
others, such as developing one’s talents and keeping our
promises to others.
•There is more foundational principle of duty that
encompasses our particular duties. It is single, self-evident
principle of reason that he calls “Categorical Imperatives”
“If you want to get a good job, then you ought to go to
college”
Kant gives at least four versions of the categorical
imperatives, but one is especially direct:
Treat people as an ends, and never as a means of an
end.
that is we should always treat people with dignity, and never
use them as mere instruments.
4. Prima Facie Duties

•W.D. Ross (17 and 18 century British Philosopher)

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•Ross argued that our duties are “part of the fundamental

nature of the universe.”
 ROSS List of Duties
•Fidelity: the duty to keep promises
•Reparation: the duty to compensate others when we harm them
•Gratitude: the duty to thank those who help us
•Justice: the duty to recognize merit
•Beneficence: the duty to improve the conditions of others
•Self-improvement: the duty to improve our virtue and
intelligence
•Non- maleficence: the duty to not injure others
Ross recognizes that situations will arise when we must choose
between two conflicting duties.
SITUATION:
Suppose I borrow my neighbor’s gun and promise to return it
when asks for it. One day, in a fit of rage, my neighbor ask for
the gun so that he can take vengeance on someone. On the
other hand, the duty of fidelity obligates me to return the gun; on
the other hand , the duty of non-maleficence obligates me to
avoid injuring others and thus not return the gun.
According to Ross, “I will intuitively know which of these
duty, and which is my apparent or prima facie duty?, in
this case, my duty of non-maleficence emerges as my
actual duty so I should not return the gun.
 LEGALISM
•It is also known as Legalistic Morality.
•To be legal means to follow what the law prescribes.
•To know the law is an advantage to those who obey the law.
•When we disobey what the law prescribes, we are penalized
based from the parameter of what the law provides.
•Legalism emphasizes the uses of Iron rule rather than Silver
rule and Golden Rule.
Three Rules of Human Conduct

•IRON RULE
•is the rule of power and force.
•Its motto is: “Might makes right.” meaning people who have
power are able to do what they want because no one canj
stop them.
•It uses force and intimidation in imposing right or wrong.
•SILVER RULE
•It describes as “ the golden rule in a negative form.” it is the
golden rule without the gold. “what you do not wish done to
you, do not do to others.”
•It also uses the idea that “it is not my fault that I was able to
find a lost money, so why should I need to return back to the
owner.”
•GOLDEN RULE
•It is an unconditional doing of good to other people without
expecting something in return.
•It is an active doing of the good.