ETHC445 Principles of Ethics
Week 4 Discussion
Week 4: Deontological Ethics
Deontology (from the Greek for “duty”) is a system of ethics that uses rules (versus more flexible beliefs) to establish right and wrong. Although every system of ethics rooted in deontology may not be absolute (black or white), it’s close. Immanuel Kant is our best-known Western deontological/ rules-based philosopher. He believed, for example, that lying is wrong almost 100% of the time because it violates the categorical imperative (Links to an external site.).
Kant’s famous First Formulation of the Categorical Imperative reads:
“Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” Kant taught morality as a matter of following maxims of living that reflect absolute laws. “Universal” allows for no exceptions, and what is universal applies always and everywhere. Lying, for any reason, is universally wrong. We have a duty to obey a rule, no matter the consequences, applying this non-optional principle. It applies across borders, species, time, space, or categories: there’s no “opt-out” button. And, you must follow a rule that plays no favorites: everyone is treated the same.
Apply this to a situation more relevant than most of us anticipated until recently: how to conduct ourselves in public spaces? Does each individual get to make his or her “rule”? Or does “society” impose a “universal law” that everyone everywhere has a duty to follow? Recall that if one follows Kant, what you agree on for yourself must be equally enacted by everyone else if the tables were turned, to prevent bias and achieve fairness. (I compare this to two teams both agreeing to play by rules set in advance, without any bias to either team.)
