202206051530 Deontology

Deontology is the study of duties or obligations. In relation to 202206051528 Moral Philosophy, deontology ascribes morality to the intention of the act, or sometimes, the act in itself, not the outcomes. It is the adherence to the duty to act in a moral way that makes the action moral. This stands in stark contrast to 202206051524 Consequentialism, though interestingly enough, formulations of our duties, maxima, and imperatives may often have consequentialist underpinnings (e.g. save the most lives possible).¹ Deontology's guide about which actions we take also differs from the 202206050755 Virtue ethics's guide of what kind of person we should try to be.

One of the greatest examples of deontology in moral philosophy is 202109071212 Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative.

The word deontology derives from the Greek words for duty (deon) and science (or study) of (logos). In contemporary moral philosophy, deontology is one of those kinds of normative theories regarding which choices are morally required, forbidden, or permitted. In other words, deontology falls within the domain of moral theories that guide and assess our choices of what we ought to do (deontic theories), in contrast to those that guide and assess what kind of person we are and should be (aretaic [virtue] theories). And within the domain of moral theories that assess our choices, deontologists — those who subscribe to deontological theories of morality — stand in opposition to consequentialists.²