Deontological ethics facts for kids

Immanuel Kant strongly stressed the role of duty in his writings.

Deontological ethics is a way of thinking about what is right and wrong. It says that some actions are good or bad because they follow certain rules or duties. It's like having a set of rules you must always follow, no matter what happens.

The word "deontology" comes from an old Greek word, deon. This word means "duty" or "obligation." So, deontological ethics is often called "duty-based ethics."

This idea is different from another type of ethics called consequentialism. Consequentialism judges actions based on their results. Deontological ethics, however, focuses on the action itself and whether it follows the rules, not on the outcome.

What is Deontological Ethics?

Deontological ethics focuses on rules and duties. It means that some actions are simply right or wrong, no matter what the consequences are. For example, if a rule says "never lie," then lying is always wrong in deontological ethics, even if telling a lie might lead to a good outcome.

This way of thinking believes that we have a duty to follow certain rules. These rules "bind" us to what we should do. It's about doing what is right because it is your duty, not because it will make something good happen.

Important Ideas in Deontological Ethics

Several thinkers and ideas fit into deontological ethics. They all share the main idea that rules and duties are very important.

Immanuel Kant's Duty-Based Ethics

One of the most famous thinkers in deontological ethics was Immanuel Kant. He was a German philosopher who lived in the 1700s. Kant believed that people should act based on rules that everyone could follow.

He thought that our actions should come from a sense of duty. For Kant, an action was truly moral only if it was done out of duty, not because of what you hoped to gain. He stressed that we should treat people as valuable in themselves, not just as a way to get something else.

Moral Absolutism

Some people believe in an idea called moral absolutism. This means they think some actions are always right or always wrong. They believe this no matter what the situation is.

For example, a moral absolutist might say that stealing is always wrong. It does not matter if you are stealing to feed your family. The act of stealing itself is seen as wrong, no matter the consequences or intentions.

Divine Command Theory

Another type of deontological ethics is called the divine command theory. This idea says that an action is right if God commands it. It also says an action is wrong if God forbids it.

In this view, moral duties come directly from God's commands. For example, if a religion's holy book says "do not kill," then not killing is a moral duty because God commanded it. Thinkers like William of Ockham and René Descartes explored similar ideas. They believed that our moral duties came from what God told us to do.