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Dutybasedethics
Deontological(dutybased)ethicsareconcernedwithwhatpeopledo,notwiththeconsequencesoftheir
actions.
Aboutdutybasedethics
DutybasedorDeontologicalethics
Deontological(dutybased)ethicsareconcernedwithwhatpeopledo,notwiththeconsequencesoftheir
actions.
Dotherightthing.
Doitbecauseit'stherightthingtodo.
Don'tdowrongthings.
Avoidthembecausetheyarewrong.
Underthisformofethicsyoucan'tjustifyanactionbyshowingthatitproducedgoodconsequences,whichis
whyit'ssometimescalled'nonConsequentialist'.
Theword'deontological'comesfromtheGreekworddeon,whichmeans'duty'.
Dutybasedethicsareusuallywhatpeoplearetalkingaboutwhentheyreferto'theprincipleofthething'.
Dutybasedethicsteachesthatsomeactsarerightorwrongbecauseofthesortsofthingstheyare,and
peoplehaveadutytoactaccordingly,regardlessofthegoodorbadconsequencesthatmaybeproduced.
Somekindsofactionarewrongorrightinthemselves,regardlessoftheconsequences.
Deontologistsliveinauniverseofmoralrules,suchas:
Itiswrongtokillinnocentpeople
Itiswrongtosteal
Itiswrongtotelllies
Itisrighttokeeppromises
SomeonewhofollowsDutybasedethicsshoulddotherightthing,evenifthatproducesmoreharm(orless
good)thandoingthewrongthing:
Peoplehaveadutytodotherightthing,evenifitproducesabadresult.
So,forexample,thephilosopherKantthoughtthatitwouldbewrongtotellalieinordertosaveafriend
fromamurderer.
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IfwecompareDeontologistswithConsequentialistswecanseethatConsequentialistsbeginbyconsidering
whatthingsaregood,andidentify'right'actionsastheonesthatproducethemaximumofthosegoodthings.
Deontologistsappeartodoittheotherwayaroundtheyfirstconsiderwhatactionsare'right'andproceed
fromthere.(Actuallythisiswhattheydoinpractice,butitisn'treallythestartingpointofdeontological
thinking.)
Soapersonisdoingsomethinggoodiftheyaredoingamorallyrightaction.
Goodandbadpoints
Goodpointsofdutybasedethics
emphasisesthevalueofeveryhumanbeing
Dutybasedethicalsystemstendtofocusongivingequalrespecttoallhumanbeings.
Thisprovidesabasisforhumanrightsitforcesdueregardtobegiventotheinterestsofasingle
personevenwhenthoseareatoddswiththeinterestsofalargergroup.
sayssomeactsarealwayswrong
Kantiandutybasedethicssaysthatsomethingsshouldneverbedone,nomatterwhatgood
consequencestheyproduce.Thisseemstoreflectthewaysomehumanbeingsthink.
Rossiandutybasedethicsmodifiedthistoallowvariousdutiestobebalanced,which,itcouldbe
argued,isanevenbetterfittothewaywethink.
provides'certainty'
Consequentialistethicaltheoriesbringadegreeofuncertaintytoethicaldecisionmaking,inthatno
onecanbecertainaboutwhatconsequenceswillresultfromaparticularaction,becausethefutureis
unpredictable.
Dutybasedethicsdon'tsufferfromthisproblembecausetheyareconcernedwiththeactionitselfif
anactionisarightaction,thenapersonshoulddoit,ifit'sawrongactiontheyshouldn'tdoitand
providingthereisaclearsetofmoralrulestofollowthenapersonfacedwithamoralchoiceshouldbe
abletotakedecisionswithreasonablecertainty.
Ofcoursethingsaren'tthatclearcut.Sometimesconsequentialisttheoriescanprovideafairdegreeof
certainty,iftheconsequencesareeasilypredictable.
Furthermore,rulebasedconsequentialismprovidespeoplewithasetofrulesthatenablethemtotake
moraldecisionsbasedonthesortofacttheyarecontemplating.
dealswithintentionsandmotives
Consequentialisttheoriesdon'tpaydirectattentiontowhetheranactiscarriedoutwithgoodorbad
intentionsmostpeoplethinkthesearehighlyrelevanttomoraljudgements.
Dutybasedethicscanincludeintentioninatleast2ways...
Ifapersondidn'tintendtodoaparticularwrongactitwasanaccidentperhapsthenfroma
deontologicalpointofviewwemightthinkthattheyhadn'tdoneanythingdeservingofcriticism.This
seemstofitwithordinarythinkingaboutethicalissues.
Ethicalrulescanbeframednarrowlysoastoincludeintention.
Badpointsofdutybasedethics
absolutist
Dutybasedethicssetsabsoluterules.Theonlywayofdealingwithcasesthatdon'tseemtofitisto
buildalistofexceptionstotherule.
allowsactsthatmaketheworldalessgoodplace
Becausedutybasedethicsisnotinterestedintheresultsitcanleadtocoursesofactionthatproducea
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reductionintheoverallhappinessoftheworld.
Mostpeoplewouldfindthisdidn'tfitwiththeiroverallideaofethics:
...itishardtobelievethatitcouldeverbeadutydeliberatelytoproducelessgoodwhenwecouldproduce
more...
ACEwing,TheDefinitionofGood,1947
hardtoreconcileconflictingduties
Dutybasedethicsdoesn'tdealwellwiththecaseswheredutiesareinconflict.
Kantiandutybasedethics
Kantiandutybasedethics
ImmanuelKant(17241804)wasarguablyoneofthegreatest
philosophersofalltime.
Kantthoughtthatitwaspossibletodevelopaconsistentmoral
systembyusingreason.
Ifpeopleweretothinkaboutthisseriouslyandina
philosophicallyrigorousmanner,Kanttaught,theywouldrealise
thatthereweresomemorallawsthatallrationalbeingshadto
obeysimplybecausetheywererationalbeings,andthiswould
applytoanyrationalbeingsinanyuniversethatmighteverexist:
ImmanuelKant
Thesupremeprincipleofmoralitywouldhaveanextremelywidescope:onethatextendednotonlytoall
rationalhumanbeingsbuttoanyotherrationalbeingswhomightexistforexample,God,angels,and
intelligentextraterrestrials.
SamuelJ.Kerstein,Kant'sSearchfortheSupremePrincipleofMorality,2002
Kanttaught(ratheroptimistically)thateveryrationalhumanbeingcouldworkthisoutforthemselvesandso
didnotneedtodependonGodortheircommunityoranythingelsetodiscoverwhatwasrightandwhatwas
wrong.Nordidtheyneedtolookattheconsequencesofanact,orwhowasdoingtheaction.
Althoughheexpressedhimselfinaphilosophicalandquitedifficultway,Kantbelievedthathewasputting
forwardsomethingthatwouldhelppeopledealwiththemoraldilemmasofeverydaylife,andprovideallofus
withausefulguidetoactingrightly.
Whatisgood?
AlthoughKantianethicsareusuallyspokenofintermsofdutyanddoingtherightthing,Kanthimselfthought
thatwhatwasgoodwasanessentialpartofethics.
Kantaskediftherewasanythingthateverybodycouldrationallyagreewasalwaysgood.Theonlythingthat
hethoughtsatisfiedthistestwasagoodwill:
Itisimpossibletoconceiveanythingintheworld,orevenoutofit,whichcanbetakenasgoodwithout
limitation,saveonlyagoodwill.
ImmanuelKant,GroundworkoftheMetaphysicsofMorals
AllKantmeansisthatagoodwillalonemustbegoodinwhatevercontextitmaybefound.
Itisnotgoodinonecontextandbadinanother.
Itisnotgoodasameanstooneendandbadasameanstoanother.
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Itisnotgoodifsomebodyhappenstowantitandbadifhedoesn't.
Itsgoodnessisnotconditionedbyitsrelationtoacontextortoanendortoadesire.
HJPaton,TheCategoricalImperative,1948(layoutbyBBC)
Otherthingsthatwemightthinkofasgoodarenotalwaysgood,asit'spossibletoimagineacontextinwhich
theymightseemtobemorallyundesirable.
Kantthenponderedwhatthismeantforhumanconduct.Heconcludedthatonlyanactiondonefor'agood
will'wasarightaction,regardlessoftheconsequences.
Butwhatsortofactionwouldthisbe?Kanttaughtthatanactioncouldonlycountastheactionofagoodwill
ifitsatisfiedthetestoftheCategoricalImperative.
Kant'sCategoricalImperative
TheCategoricalImperative
Kant'sversionofdutybasedethicswasbasedonsomethingthat
hecalled'thecategoricalimperative'whichheintendedtobethe
basisofallotherrules(a'categoricalimperative'isarulethatis
trueinallcircumstances.)
Thecategoricalimperativecomesintwoversionswhicheach
emphasisedifferentaspectsofthecategoricalimperative.Kantis
clearthateachoftheseversionsismerelyadifferentwayof
expressingthesameruletheyarenotdifferentrules.
ImmanuelKant
Moralrulesmustbeuniversalisable
Thefirstoneemphasisestheneedformoralrulestobeuniversalisable.
Alwaysactinsuchawaythatyoucanalsowillthatthemaximofyouractionshouldbecomeauniversallaw.
Toputthismoresimply:
Alwaysactinsuchawaythatyouwouldbewillingforittobecomeagenerallawthateveryoneelseshoulddo
thesameinthesamesituation.
Thismeansatleasttwothings:
ifyouaren'twillingfortheethicalruleyouclaimtobefollowingtobeappliedequallytoeveryone
includingyouthenthatruleisnotavalidmoralrule.Ican'tclaimthatsomethingisavalidmoralrule
andmakeanexceptiontoitformyselfandmyfamilyandfriends.
So,forexample,ifIwonderwhetherIshouldbreakapromise,Icantestwhetherthisisrightbyasking
myselfwhetherIwouldwanttheretobeauniversalrulethatsays'it'sOKtobreakpromises'.
SinceIdon'twanttheretobearulethatletspeoplebreakpromisestheymaketome,Icanconcludethatit
wouldbewrongformetobreakthepromiseIhavemade.
iftheethicalruleyouclaimtobefollowingcannotlogicallybemadeauniversalrule,thenitisnotavalid
moralrule.
So,forexample,ifIwerethinkingphilosophicallyImightrealisethatauniversalrulethat'it'sOKtobreak
promisesinordertogetone'sownway',wouldmeanthatnoonewouldeverbelieveanotherperson's
promiseandsoallpromiseswouldlosetheirvalue.Sincetheexistenceofpromisesinsocietyrequiresthe
acceptanceoftheirvalue,thepracticeofpromisingwouldeffectivelyceasetoexist.Itwouldnolongerbe
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possibletobreakapromise,letalonegetonesownwaybydoingso.
Moralrulesmustrespecthumanbeings
Kantthoughtthatallhumanbeingsshouldbetreatedasfreeandequalmembersofasharedmoral
community,andthesecondversionofthecategoricalimperativereflectsthisbyemphasisingtheimportance
oftreatingpeopleproperly.Italsoacknowledgestherelevanceofintentioninmorality.
Actsothatyoutreathumanity,bothinyourownpersonandinthatofanother,alwaysasanendandnever
merelyasameans.
...manand,ingeneral,everyrationalbeingexistsasanendinhimselfandnotmerelyasameanstobe
arbitrarilyusedbythisorthatwill.Inallhisactions,whethertheyaredirectedtohimselfortootherrational
beings,hemustalwaysberegardedatthesametimeasanend...
ImmanuelKant,TheCategoricalImperative
Kantissayingthatpeopleshouldalwaysbetreatedasvaluableasanendinthemselvesandshouldnot
justbeusedinordertoachievesomethingelse.Theyshouldnotbetricked,manipulatedorbulliedintodoing
things.
Thisresonatesstronglywithdisapprovingcommentssuchas"he'sjustusingher",anditunderpinstheidea
that"theendcanneverjustifythemeans".
Herearethreeexamplesoftreatingpeopleasmeansandnotends:
treatingapersonasiftheywereaninanimateobject
coercingapersontogetwhatyouwant
deceivingapersontogetwhatyouwant
Kantdoesn'twanttosaythatpeoplecan'tbeusedatallitmaybefinetouseapersonaslongastheyare
alsobeingtreatedasanendinthemselves.
Theimportanceofduty
Dotherightthingfortherightreason,becauseitistherightthingtodo.
Kantthoughtthattheonlygoodreasonfordoingtherightthingwasbecauseofdutyifyouhadsomeother
reason(perhapsyoudidn'tcommitmurderbecauseyouweretooscared,notbecauseitwasyourdutynotto)
thenthatyouwouldnothaveactedinamorallygoodway.
Buthavinganotherreasonaswellasdutydoesn'tstopanactionfrombeingright,solongasdutywasthe
operationalreasonforouraction.
Ifwedosomethingbecauseweknowit'sourduty,andifdutyisthekeyelementinourdecisiontoact,then
wehaveactedrightly,evenifwewantedtodotheactorweretooscarednottodoit,orwhatever.
Rossiandutybasedethics
Rossiandutybasedethics
Kantianethicsseemsprettyuncompromisingandnotreallysuitedtotheuntidinessofmanymoralchoices
thatpeoplehavetomake.
The20thCenturyphilosopherW.D.Ross[SirDavidRoss](18771971)suggestedthatitwouldbehelpfulto
lookattwokindsofduty:
Primafacieduties
Actualduties
Primafacieduties
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Primafacieduties
areselfevidentandobviousduties(primafacieisaLatinexpressionmeaning'onfirstappearances'or'by
firstinstance')
canbeknowntobecorrectifapersonthinksaboutthemandunderstandsthem:
whenwehavereachedsufficientmentalmaturityandhavegivensufficientattentiontothepropositionitis
evidentwithoutanyneedofproof,orofevidencebeyonditself
WDRoss,TheRightandtheGood,1930
shouldbepromoted,"allthingsconsidered"
canbeoutweighedbyotherprimafacieduties.
Actualduties
Thisisthedutypeopleareleftwithaftertheyhaveweighedupalltheconflictingprimafaciedutiesthatapply
inaparticularcase:
thegroundoftheactualrightnessoftheactisthat,ofallactspossibleinthecircumstances,itisthatwhose
primafacierightnessintherespectsinwhichitisprimafacierightmostoutweighsitsprimafaciewrongness
inanyrespectsinwhichitisprimafaciewrong.
WDRoss,TheRightandTheGood,1930
Rosslistedsevenprimafacieduties:
Fidelity
Reparation
Gratitude
Justice
Beneficence
Selfimprovement
Nonmaleficence(avoidingactionsthatdoharm)
Callingthese'duties'maybeabitmisleading,astheyarenotsomuchdutiesas"featuresthatgiveus
genuine(notmerelyapparent)moralreasontodocertainactions".
Rosslaterdescribedprimafaciedutiesas"responsibilitiestoourselvesandtoothers"andhewentontosay
that"whatweshoulddo(ourdutyproper[ouractualduty])isdeterminedbythebalanceofthese
responsibilities."
ProblemswiththeRossianapproach
Ross'sideastillleavessomeproblems:
Howcanwetellwhichprimafaciedutiesareinvolvedinaparticularcase?
Howcanwecompareandranktheminordertoarriveatabalancewhichwillguideusastoouractual
duty?
Rossthoughtthatpeoplecouldsolvethoseproblemsbyrelyingontheirintuitions.
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