Deontological Moral Theory Essay

Overall, deontology is based upon not just by following universal rules or performing what is ought to do, but by respecting human beings as rational beings as well. Deontology judges the ethical motive of an action not by its consequences, merely by the reasoning behind it.

“Deontology is a moral theory that emphasizes one’s duty to do a particular action just because the action, itself, is inherently right and not through any other sorts of calculations – such as the consequences of the action” (Boylan, 2009, p. 171). In many aspects deontology is contrasted with utilitarianism. Deontology is based upon principle and does not calculate the consequences (Boylan, 2009, p. 171). Deontology attracts those seeking a stronger moral attraction because it refers to commanding rather than commending and commanding is a stronger structure (Boylan, 2009, p. 172). The

In contrast with deontology, there is utilitarianism, which is a consequentialist theory. Utilitarianists consider consequences to be an important indicator of the moral value of one’s actions (Rich, 2008). In consequentialist analyses, conclusions about what is right or wrong are based on the consequences (Tanner et al., 2008). Utilitarianism is to promote the greatest good for the greatest amount of people that is possible in situations.

In a general sense, Deontological theories determine morality of an action by asking about the action itself.

When faced with adversity and difficult dilemmas, people have different ways to figure out what to do; some people make pros and cons lists while other people just go with their gut. Ethical theories like utilitarianism and deontology, can aid people in making these difficult choices. Utilitarianism focuses on the results of your actions, rather than the intent behind them, as the goal of the theory is the create the greatest good for the greatest amount people. On the other hand, deontology follows a strict moral code concentrating on the right or moral action rather than the results it yields. While utilitarianism and deontology focus on different aspects of decision making, the effect and the intent respectively, they often yield the same result; more often than not the more ethical decision leads to the greater result. These ethical theories are both used in Snow Falling on Cedars by David Gunderson where they both agree on the topics, yielding the same results.

Deontology is an ethical position that examines the morality of an action based on the action’s adherence to rule or rules. Many times is described as obligation or rule based ethics (Alexander). Therefore, the only actions that are considered moral are those that are performed solely for one’s duty to the moral law rather than one’s desire. Deontology is the school of thought that Kant comes from. Immanuel Kant was a critical figure in philosophy in the modern age. His work was the foundation of the most famous form of Deontology.

According to theory of utilitarianism an action is ethically right if its lead to happiness, and wrong if it ends in unhappiness. The general concept behind Virtue Ethics is that it emphasizes on what the individual should select fortheir own personal behavior instead of the individual depending solely on theexternal laws and customs of the person's culture. Deontological thinking isconstructed on the fact that we have a duty to do certain things and to not do certainthings. Deontologists do not look at how much good might be caused by an action.They look at the action itself, deciding whether it is prohibited or made obligatoryby one of their rules.

Deontologism is a school of rule-based ethics that determines whether or not an action is moral based on sets of principles or rules. These rules are fixed, and can include “it is wrong to kill” and “it is wrong to lie.” Don Marquis, who wrote “Why Abortion is Immoral” from a deontological perspective, argued that abortion is immoral, except in a few rare cases, and in order to determine why it is immoral, an account of why killing is wrong must be created. Marquis found that killing is wrong because of the dead’s loss of their future personal life. The potential for joy, great experiences, and happiness is too considerable to end prematurely. Though Marquis does not regard abortion to be the same as premature death, he regards it as causing

To contrast utilitarianism and deontology, utilitarianism summarized is making the right decision followed by the right actions that has the best outcome for the largest number of individuals. Deontology is the understanding and practice that there is a respect for life, fairness, and honesty despite the consequences and no matter the affect on

Consequentialism is ordinarily distinct from deontology, as deontology offers rightness or wrongness of an act, rather than the outcome of the action. In this essay we are going to explore the differences of consequentialism and deontology and apply them to the quandary

The controversial topic that can spark a discussion from anyone is the abortion. Both sides of the argument bring out valid points, but when we take a look through Deontology point of view we have a strong argument on why abortion is wrong. LaFollette writes in the chapter where he explains Deontologists’ stance that “Each of us has, for example, a special obligation to our own children: they have a claim on our attention and resources” (pg.159). Deontologist’s focus is on the rightness or wrongness of the actions, thus the duty of these actions is taken in the consideration. The duty of caring for the child from the beginning of it’s life until maturity, and the duty to see that the life of a fetus ends in itself and not by us, is the focus of Deontologists’ argument against abortion.

Deontology considers an action to be right iff it is in accordance with a moral rule or principle. A deontological moral rule is one that (i) is laid on us by god, (ii) is required by natural law, (iii) is laid on us by reason, (iiii) is required by nationality, (iiiii) would command universal rational acceptance, and (iiiiii) would be the object of choice of all rational beings (Hursthouse, Virtue Theory and Abortion, 224). This provides the link between right action, moral rule, and rationality. The deontologist Don Marquis would respond to the utilitarian argument by suggesting that the consequences of abortion are irrelevant because abortion violates a fundamental and unconditional duty.

For example, in Movie “the lone survivor”, the squad’s duty is to conduct a surveillance mission in Afghanistan. However, during the mission they discovered two local people. They have two option, and any option will result in different outcome. The first option is to kill them to ensure the mission success, in spite of those people are innocent. But, the outcome they will face is the condemnation, due to the murder. The second option is to let them go, based on the virtue and ideology from public opinion. However, the consequence they will suffer is to confront the attack and death threat from the Taliban, because of the report of those released people. It is related to the deontology and consequentialism. If you are a deontology, you will choose the second option. Contrarily, if you are a consequentialism, the first one will be your

The first of the Deontology theories is the agent-centered theory. Agent-centered is about a person’s rights and duties. People are responsible for making sure that their actions are morally right and do not interfere with obligations. With agent-centered, we are supposed to perform actions even if we know that the outcome would be better if we decided to ignore our obligations and principles. Agent-centered theories define obligation as “an obligation for a particular agent to take or refrain from taking some action” (Alexander, Larry and Moore, Michael).

Proponents of deontological ethics do not consider consequences as important when determining whether an individual is moral or immoral. Morality is based solely on the person’s action. Several ethical theories are deontological theories.