What Is Deontology?

The word deontology comes from the Greek word “deontos” which means duty (Adams, 2011). Deontology can be defined as doing what is morally correct regardless of the final results as long as they abide by the moral principles. Certain actions, like lying, are never allowed regardless if its outcomes benefit the purpose and no harm is caused. The theory states that whether an action is ethical and follows the moral rules, depends on the intentions behind the decisions (Pieper, 2008). So for an action to be “good” and morally right, it must have been performed at goodwill and abide to moral values.

The Deontology theory is one that I find quite interesting. I had never heard of it before I read the book. This philosophy describes a rational being and what it entails. As nurses we feel a sense of duty to our patients and this philosophy divulges into how duties and laws are set in stone and cannot be changed. We will always feel a certain duty to patients that will never waiver. There are two different duties that Immanuel Kant, the most influential philosopher with deontology, brought up, and they are the hypothetical imperative and the categorical imperative. The hypothetical imperative is an optional duty that is suggested so that an outcome can be achieved. (Butts & Rich, 2016) The example that the book gives for this is “If I want to become a nurse, then I have to study during school more” (Butts & Rich, 2016, p. 21), and I think this is an incredible example. The optional part of this is the studying. Obviously, if someone does

Theories are a series of interconnected proposals. Theories are an effort to describe, explain, predict, and finally control a period of events. We are able to base our experiments and select the contenders for the experiments off of our theories. We are able to test our theories by how well the cumulated data describes, relates to and predicts reality. Theories act as patterns for interpreting specific data that we may refer back to. These patterns ensure we stay on topic and are able to obtain the proper results needed to verify our theories.

Deontology or also know as Deontology ethics is an approach that is taken that determines the goodness and rightness of a specific act or rules and duties that a specific person has to perform. Deontology is the complete opposite of consequentialism. Consequentialism is the where the outcome of an act has a major influence and not the actual act itself. In better words it is what comes after the action that is made and not the action itself. As for deontology an action can be considered right or something acceptable even if the outcome of the action is something bad. A perfect example for deontology would be “ do onto others what you would have them do onto you.” This is just something that

A theory is a set of systematic informed hunches about the way things work. A good theory goes beyond accepted wisdom and offers explanations and speculations about phenomena. Additionally, a good theory consists of a system of concepts which means that the theorist were able to make connections among his ideas. A theory tends to shape our perception of reality and behaviour and guides us through unknown areas.

When we talk about science, many people hear the term “theory”. The definition of a scientific theory can become confusing since many people interpret the meaning differently. When a person uses the term “theory” in a sentence it is usually used in a non-scientific way. They assume that a theory is something assumed, but not proven. When the term “theory” is used in science, it means an explanation based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning. It has been tested and confirmed as a general principle to explain phenomena. A scientific theory must be based on careful examination of facts. “A theory is a hypothesis or set of hypotheses that has stood the

In theory development literature, concepts are the building blocks from which one constructs theories. Concepts are the fundamental building blocks for any scientific knowledge in any field, and the purpose of any concept analysis is to spell out the implication of a given concept of interest using a given approach or methodology (Meleis, 2011). The idea of concept analysis relates to the research blueprint of a philosophical inquiry whose purpose is to carry out research by intellectual analysis in order to spell out meaning.

A theory is an explanation for a problem or an observation. These explanations can vary based on which perspective is being used, such as a moral or sociological. Despite having different theories for the same problem, they all try to “...explicitly or implicitly suggest how to address [a] problem, which could then lead to appropriate action” (p.52).

Deontology is about duties, the duty to do what is right and not to do what is wrong (Lacewing, 2005). Its principle is that certain acts are our duties. It observes those duties by recognizing other people's

Theories are defined as a belief, policy, or procedure proposed or followed as the basis of action (Theory, n.d.). The theory that I researched is the social exchange theory. Defined as interpreting people’s social interactions that are based on estimates of rewards and punishment. The research indicates that the theory is valid. I will go further in to depth.

Theories are the basis that helps us generate a paradigm, a new knowledge. We as students should identify the theory that we would like to continue working with, and especially the theory on which we must continue to study.

Deontology is the first of the three schools of thought. It stands for the judgment of the “morality of choices by criteria different from the states of affairs those choices bring about.” (Alexander 2007) Larry Alexander writes in Deontological Ethics that deontologists support that “some choices cannot be justified by their effects, that

Deontology according to the philosophy and ethical theories lecture of Butcher (2017e) is a common theory used in healthcare with much of everything the advanced practice nurse does being grounded in this concept. Deontology focuses on duty and rules of human actions, addressing the rightness and wrongness of what we do (Rich, 2018). When describing deontology, Rich (2018) states, “According to Kant, only dutiful actions have moral worth. Even when individuals do not want to act from a motivation of duty, Kant believed they are required ethically to do so” (p. 191). As long as the rules that were applied in the situation are moral and ethical, then regardless of the outcome, you are considered to have acted ethically.

Deontology or duty is “if a cultural norm of law conflicts with a moral duty, then the moral duty should take precedence over the legal duty” (Boss). So with Boss’s example of the doctor in a bit of a dilemma, he must make a decision between telling the wife the real situation of her husband's real condition and keep a marriage from falling apart. Or in terms of Deontology, the doctor must choose between going against cultural norms. But lawfully speaking, the doctor doesn't have the right to tell the wife about her husband’s health condition. So in that way she is choosing her moral duty over the lawful conditions of her profession. My beliefs on this is split. I do believe that the doctor must follow protocol and not inform the wife because her profession says so but I also believe that the wife deserves to know that status of her marriage. So either side of this Deontology argument can be made in my opinion. But the side of the argument that has the doctor informing the wife of the situation is the Absolute Duty. This is “one that is always morally binding regardless of the circumstances” (Boss). The argument that is the doctor following the law is the Prima Facie Duty. Morally binding till it conflicts with moral obligations.

“Deontology (from the Greek deon, meaning "duty") refers to an ethical theory or perspective based on duty or obligation. A deontological, or duty-based, theory is one in which specific moral duties or obligations are seen as self-evident” (Rueckert-Hartman School for Health Professionals, 2016).