Deontology

Bibliographic Data

ID6609986
AuthorsPiers Rawlings, Piers Rawling (0000-0002-0522-1721, Florida State University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Publication date2023-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeBOOK
VenueDeontology (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/9781108581196
OpenAlexW4316020913
Open LibraryOL46464872M
ISBN9781108581196
GOOGLE_BOOK_IDYziFzwEACAAJ
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited40

Deontology is a theory about how we should act, morally speaking. It comes in several varieties, but all share certain doctrines, many of which are close to those found in the so-called 'common-sense morality' of the Western world. And all varieties are united in their opposition to consequentialism, a theory that, in its simplest form, tells us that we should always act so as to maximize impersonal value by bringing about the best consequences. This Element presents some of the different versions of deontology, including the views of W. D. Ross, and, to a lesser extent, Immanuel Kant. It defends certain deontological tenets, while challenging others, and contrasts them with consequentialism. Deontology and consequentialism are two of the main contenders in ethical theory, but virtue ethics is another, and it too is addressed (briefly), with an attempt to see it, in its most plausible form, as part of deontology

Consequentialism · Deontological ethics · Epistemology · Ethical theory · Morality · Normative ethics · Political science · Sociology · Ethics in medical practice · Free Will and Agency · Law · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy