Post by Radrook Admin on Sept 10, 2019 22:26:12 GMT -5
Deontology
Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong. Deontology is often associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant believed that ethical actions follow universal moral laws, such as “Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t cheat.”
Deontology is simple to apply. It just requires that people follow the rules and do their duty. This approach tends to fit well with our natural intuition about what is or isn’t ethical.
Unlike consequentialism, which judges actions by their results, deontology doesn’t require weighing the costs and benefits of a situation. This avoids subjectivity and uncertainty because you only have to follow set rules.
Despite its strengths, rigidly following deontology can produce results that many people find unacceptable. For example, suppose you’re a software engineer and learn that a nuclear missile is about to launch that might start a war. You can hack the network and cancel the launch, but it’s against your professional code of ethics to break into any software system without permission. And, it’s a form of lying and cheating. Deontology advises not to violate this rule. However, in letting the missile launch, thousands of people will die
ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/deontologydie.
As the article points out-the road to hell can be paved with deontological good intentions. It requires that you literally become a mindless, programmed machine, regardless of the negative consequences. This type of reasoning can be religiously or politically motivated. Make America great again by shooting members of a certain ethnic group might be one consequence. Persecution of members of a certain religious denomination might be another.
I once read about an experience that occurred during WWII where deontological reasoning was involved . Jews were being hidden in a basement by Christians. The Gestapo arrived and asked each family member whether Jews were hidden in the house. Everyone lied except this girl who had been taught in church never to lie. She had decided that this rule could never be violated and told the Gestapo where the Jews were hiding. Not only the Jews, but she and her entire family wound up in a death camp.
A hypothetical that illustrates the absurdity of such thinking is one where a person feels that he should never kill another human. This person comes upon a man who is pinned under a burning vehicle and begging to be put out of his misery. The deontological thinker believing it to be wrong refuses to do so. Instead he prefers to let the man slowly roast to death with no possible rescue in sight.
A young man joins a religious organization that prohibits fornication. There are no marriageable women in his vicinity so he is literally cooking in his own skin. There are women not of his religion available but the rule says marry only in your denomination. He can go to a harlot but that would be fornication. Masturbation is also against the rules so he cant alleviate himself in that way. Such a rule-follower has very effectively created his own hell on earth.
I once read about an experience that occurred during WWII where deontological reasoning was involved . Jews were being hidden in a basement by Christians. The Gestapo arrived and asked each family member whether Jews were hidden in the house. Everyone lied except this girl who had been taught in church never to lie. She had decided that this rule could never be violated and told the Gestapo where the Jews were hiding. Not only the Jews, but she and her entire family wound up in a death camp.
A hypothetical that illustrates the absurdity of such thinking is one where a person feels that he should never kill another human. This person comes upon a man who is pinned under a burning vehicle and begging to be put out of his misery. The deontological thinker believing it to be wrong refuses to do so. Instead he prefers to let the man slowly roast to death with no possible rescue in sight.
A young man joins a religious organization that prohibits fornication. There are no marriageable women in his vicinity so he is literally cooking in his own skin. There are women not of his religion available but the rule says marry only in your denomination. He can go to a harlot but that would be fornication. Masturbation is also against the rules so he cant alleviate himself in that way. Such a rule-follower has very effectively created his own hell on earth.