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Stems from the Greek word "deon", meaning duty. In moral philosophy, deontology is the view that morality either forbids or permits actions, which is done through moral norms. Simply put, the correctness of an action lies within itself, not in the consequences of the action. This lies in contrast with teleology. For example, a deontological moral theory might hold that lying is wrong, even if it produces good consequences. Historically, the most influential deontological theory of morality was developed by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who introduced the idea of the categorical imperative. Norms are a sort of sentences or sentence meanings, the most common of which are commands and permissions. ...
Teleology is the position that there is design, purpose, directive principle, or finality in the works and processes of nature, and the philosophical study of that purpose. ...
A painting of Immanuel Kant in his middle age Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 in Königsberg – February 12, 1804) was a German philosopher from Prussia, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ...
The philosophical concept of a categorical imperative is central to the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. ...
Contrasted with consequentialist moral theories
Deontological theories of morality are frequently contrasted to consequentialist theories such as utilitarianism. While deontological moral theories typically hold that certain actions are either forbidden or wrong per se, consequentialist theories usually maintain that the rightness or wrongness of an action depends on the consequences of the act and hence on the circumstances in which it is performed. Consequentialism is the belief that what ultimately matters in evaluating actions or policies of action are the consequences that result from choosing one action or policy rather than the alternative. ...
Utilitarianism is a theory of ethics based on quantitative maximisation of happiness for society or humanity. ...
As described by John Rawls, the distinction is between the right and the good: under deontology, what actions are right and what things are good are at least partially independent, whereas under consequentialism, an act is right if and only if it maximises the good. John Rawls (February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was a philosopher, a professor of political philosophy at Harvard University and author of A Theory of Justice (1971), Political Liberalism, and The Law of Peoples. ...
Another way of distinguishing consequentialism and deontology, as done by Shelly Kagan, is to note that, under deontology, individuals are bound by constraints (such as the requirement not to kill) but are also given options (such as the right not to give money to charity, if they do not wish to). Strict consequentialism recognises neither - instead, one must maximise the good by any and all means necessary. (But contrast this viewpoint with satisficing, which observes that individuals do not always seek to maximise, but rather can be satisfied with sub-optimum goods. -- Herbert Simon) Shelly Kagan is the Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and the former Henry R. Luce Professor of Social Thought and Ethics. ...
In economics, satisficing is a behaviour which attempts to achieve at least some minimum level of a particular variable, but which does not strive to achieve its maximum possible value. ...
Contrasted with aretaic moral theories Aretaic theories often maintain that character as opposed to actions or their consequences should be the focal point of ethical theory. An example is virtue ethics, which tries to describe what characteristics a virtuous person has. In philosophy, the phrase virtue ethics refers to ethical systems that focus primarily on what sort of person one should try to be. ...
Examples of deontological theories The most famous deontological theory is that advanced by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant's theory included the idea of a categorical imperative. The two expressions of the categorical imperative are: "Act so that the maxim [determining motive of the will] may be capable of becoming a universal law for all rational beings" and "Always act so as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, as an end in itself, never as a means only." One example of a contemporary deontological moral theory is the contractualism developed by the American philosopher Thomas Scanlon. A painting of Immanuel Kant in his middle age Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 in Königsberg – February 12, 1804) was a German philosopher from Prussia, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ...
The philosophical concept of a categorical imperative is central to the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. ...
See also One possible question in the debate between consequentialism and deontological ethics is whether deontology might in fact be a type of consequentialism. ...
Deontic logic, first put forward by Ernst Mally in 1926, is a form of modal logic used to describe and reason about obligation and permission. ...
Moral absolutism is the belief or theory that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged and suggests that morals are not determined by societal or situational influences. ...
Bibliography - Deontology, edited by Stephen Darwall (Oxford: Blackwell, 2002). ISBN 0631231129. This is a collection of essays on deontological moral theory.
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