Notes On Deontological Ethics

WHAT IS DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS?
(Duty-based Ethics)
- In deontological ethics an action is considered morally good because of some characteristic of

the action itself, not because the product of the action is good
- the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a
series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action.
KANTIAN ETHICS
For Kant, religion and morality should be kept apart. In order to determine what’s right, you have to use
your reason. If we subscribe to different religion for morality, then, there would be different sense of
morality.
Kant took morality very seriously that for him, morality is something that should be precise like a
mathematical equation. HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVES AND CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVES
In doing acts, Kant made a distinction between the things we ought to do for nonmoral reasons, and the
things we ought to do for moral reasons.
Things the things we ought to do for nonmoral reasons are under Hypothetical Imperative.
Things we ought to do for moral reasons are under Categorical Imperative.
HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVE
Imperatives which we must do if we want to satisfy our desires. They are optional since they are based
on our desires.
E.g. If Margaret wants to get a high grade, then he should study.
Hypothetical Imperatives are about prudence (to get one’s desire), not morality.
We are only obliged to do an imperative to satisfy our desires.
But Kant didn’t view morality in terms of hypothetical imperative, but in terms of categorical
imperative.
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
Imperatives which we must do regardless of our desires.
“It doesn’t matter whether you want to be moral or not (as morality is not a choice), the moral law is
binding on all of us.”
So, morality is not a choice, but an obligation. These moral obligations are derived from pure reason.
Q: But, why do we have these obligations? Why is morality binding on all of us?
A: Because we are rational beings who have duties to a society which we are a part of. Since we are
rational beings, we have a duty to follow rational moral principles.
HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHAT’S MORAL?
By using various formulations. Kant came up with 4 formulations of categorical imperative.
1. UNIVERSALIZABILITY
Before doing an act, try to universalize it in order to know if it is morally correct.
“Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a
universal law” simply means “an act is only permissible if one is willing for the maxim to be a universal
law by which everyone acts”
Maxims fail universalizability if they produce contradiction in conception or a contradiction in the will
when universalized.
Contradiction in conception - if a maxim were to be universalized, it ceases to make sense. E.g.

Borrowing without returning (if universalized, borrowing will become meaningless as people will not
trust people who borrow)
Contradiction in will – if a maxim were to be universalized, it leads to a state of affairs that no rational
being would desire, even the proponent of that maxim. E.g. stealing, cheating to your partner (if
universalized, not everyone will desire it)
Go back to deontological ethics as about the act itself, not the consequence of it.
2. HUMANITY AS AN END IN ITSLEF
"Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any
other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end."
Do not treat humans as mere objects. Do not treat human as means. We do use humans as means like
hiring them to your company, but that’s not what Kant meant. Kant meant to use them as means,
means deceiving them.
To treat someone as an end-in-herself or himself, means to recognize his autonomy and his capability to
make free decisions. One should realize the humanity of the person that you are encountering, to realize
that she has goals, she has values, and interests of her own.
3. FORMULA OF AUTONOMY
"Act that your will can regard itself at the same time as making universal law through its maxims." Kant's
Formula of Autonomy expresses the idea that an agent is obliged to follow the Categorical Imperative
because of their rational will, rather than any outside influence. Kant believed that any moral law
motivated by the desire to fulfill some other interest would deny the Categorical Imperative, leading him
to argue that the moral law must only arise from a rational will. This principle requires people to
recognize the right of others to act autonomously and means that, as moral laws must be
universalizable, what is required of one person is required of all.
4. KINGDOM OF ENDS
“A rational being must always regard himself as giving laws either as member or as sovereign in a
kingdom of ends which is rendered possible by the freedom of will.”
This formulation requires that actions be considered as if their maxim is to provide a law for a
hypothetical Kingdom of Ends. Accordingly, people have an obligation to act upon principles that a
community of rational agents would accept as laws. In such a community, everyone would only accept
maxims that can govern every member of the community without treating any member merely as a
means to an end. Although the Kingdom of Ends is an ideal—the actions of other people and events of
nature ensure that actions with good intentions sometimes result in harm—we are still required to act
categorically, as legislators of this ideal kingdom.

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WHAT IS DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS?

- In deontological ethics an action is considered morally good because of some characteristic of

Things we ought to do for moral reasons are under Categorical Imperative.

E.g. If Margaret wants to get a high grade, then he should study.

We are only obliged to do an imperative to satisfy our desires.

Imperatives which we must do regardless of our desires.

HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHAT’S MORAL?

By using various formulations. Kant came up with 4 formulations of categorical imperative.

Before doing an act, try to universalize it in order to know if it is morally correct.

Contradiction in conception - if a maxim were to be universalized, it ceases to make sense. E.g.

2. HUMANITY AS AN END IN ITSLEF

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