Whilst Deontology has its attractions it fails to provide a reliable foundation for moral decision making Examine and evaluate this claim

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Deontology

‘Whilst Deontology has it’s attractions it fails to provide a reliable foundation for moral decision making’ Examine and evaluate this claim (30)

Deontology is based upon the actions of a person, not the consequences. The word deontology is derived from the Greek word ‘deontos’. It was developed by Immanuel Kant and it is an absolutist a priori theory, the phrase a priori means it is knowable through experience and absolutist means there are fixed rules that cannot be changed. This means Kant believed the duty of the moral law was unchangeable and through experience, if everyone followed these rules the world would be a better place.

Immanuel Kant wrote ‘Critique of Pure reason’ in this book he devised his deontological theory of duty. He believed it is the duty of one to follow the moral law and not judge situations with feelings, inclination, love and compassion.

Kant also believed that all humans seek for summum bonum which is the state when all human virtue and happiness are united. To help people on their way to moral decision Immanuel Kant devised the categorical imperative, this is in contrast to the hypothetical imperative. The hypothetical imperative normally starts sentence with an if e.g. if you wish to complete a good essay you must spend time on it, where as a categorical imperative tells you that you should do something, e.g. you should brush your teeth in the morning. This then was devised into three different rules on how to live your life; The Universal Law, Treat Humans as Ends in Themselves and Act as if you live in a Kingdom of Ends.

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Kant’s second principle in the categorical imperative,

‘So act that you treat humanity, both in your own person and in the person of every other human being, never merely as a means, but always at the same time as an end’

This shows that it could be an attractive theory as it has good intentions in mind.

Like many theories, Deontology has its strengths and weaknesses. One of its main strengths is that it is an absolutist theory. This means it is either intrinsically good or bad, e.g. do not commit murder.

This is a major strength ...

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