Conceptualization of deontology

Kevin Fernando Lalangui Flores

November 2019

Salesian Polytechnic University

Electronic Engineering
Deontology
 Abstract ii

In this essay the basic concepts of deontology, its definition, types and characteristics will
be presented. In addition, a brief review will be given on the contribution of the philosophers W.D.
Ross and Kant in ethics, morals and deontology. It will also explain the importance of the study of
deontology and finally the difference between these terms since it is very common to confuse
them.
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Professional Deontology ................................................................................................ 1

Definition .................................................................................................................................... 1
Types ........................................................................................................................................... 1
Characteristics ............................................................................................................................. 1
Prima Facie Duties by W.D. Ross .............................................................................................. 2
Kant and Ethics of Respect for Persons ...................................................................................... 2
Chapter 2 Importance of studying Deontology ............................................................................... 4
Importance of Deontology in a globalized world ....................................................................... 4
Chapter 3 Difference among Professional Ethics, Deontology and Morality ............................... 5
List of References ........................................................................................................................... 6
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Chapter 1

Professional Deontology

Definition

Deontology is an approach to Ethics that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong,

especially in people who apply professional activities, since they have a set of moral duties

and obligations related to their profession. 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”.

Types

 Applied Deontology: tell us about the duties of everyday life, whether or not to do

the right thing in some situation.

 Prescriptive Deontology: determines behavior based on the rules raised or

necessary for coexistence.

Characteristics

 Wide Sense: Set of all legal rules, statutory and conventional, in addition to the

principles and customs had as general acceptance in the profession.

 Strict Sense: A systematic set of rules, uses, principles and duties that are not going

to be supported by any legal sanction, but by a voluntary acceptance of some

professionals.

A fundamental characteristic of professional deontology is that it has a strong

component of self-regulation, understood in a collective sense. It is an interiorization of the

profession's own rules.

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Prima Facie Duties by W.D. Ross

W. D. Ross maintains that the consequences of an action such as lying may

sometimes make lying the right thing to do. For that he tells us that:

 People must carefully weigh all duties before doing and action.

 Moral decisions should be guided by intellectual intuition.

 In order to do a right action, people should choose the duty that seems to them most

important.

Kant and Ethics of Respect for Persons

Kant maintains that it is always wrong to lie, there is no excuse to make the lie

right. That's why he tells us that people evaluate whether an action is right or wrong if:

 The action is an efficient manner to achieve a desired goal.

 The action is right (or wrong) even when it is taken in itself (not only on the account

of leading to a certain goal).

Kant classifies imperatives into two types: categorical and hypothetical.

Categorical imperatives prescribe an action as unconditionally good, commands

something by the goodness of the action itself, regardless of what can be achieved with it.

It declares the action objectively necessary in itself, without reference to any extrinsic

purpose. For Kant only this type of imperative is properly an imperative of morality.

Hypothetical imperatives are imperatives that prescribe an action as good because

that action is necessary to achieve some purpose. They are divided into hypothetical

imperatives of ability and hypothetical imperatives of prudence.

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Kant maintains that people can act on principle considering different rules. In

addition, people can choose and commit to follow certain rules to determine whether

actions are good or bad. Kant calls “maxim” to the internal (or subjective) principle that

people follow when they have to do it.

Kant Principles

 Kant Principle No. 1: “An act is morally right if and only if this act is based on a

maxim that may become universal (moral) law (that you may rationally will to

become such a law)”.

 Kant Principle No. 2: ”An act is morally right if and only if the agent does not treat

any person (any rational being) merely as a means but also as an end in itself.”
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Chapter 2

Importance of studying Deontology

We cannot live without morality, that is to say, without a moral rule to which our

actions are subjected. It is the basis of our relationships with God and the way in which our

relationships between people run.

Deontology is of great interest to the professional world, and in particular to

professionals who share a high level of social responsibility (doctors, engineers, lawyers,

accountants, teachers, therapists, psychologists, etc.). Because it seeks to determine and

regulate the set of ethical and moral responsibilities that arise in relation to the exercise of

their profession, that is, it seeks a balance between a particular moral style or moral

character and a high level of technical-scientific professionalism.

Importance of Deontology in a globalized world

Deontology is the field that inspires and shelters the noblest feelings of the human

being. Without it, man would be homeless, helpless in a world in which he would only

implement the law of the jungle and the law of the lowest instincts.

There is therefore an urgent need for a renewal of morality which, in dialogue with

postmodernity, generates a morality of persons, a concrete morality, a morality of attitudes

and fundamental choices. It is urgent to promote, not a minimalist morality, but a morality

of aspirations. Finally, Deontology could contribute to overcoming the negative effects of

globalization.
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Chapter 3

Difference among Professional Ethics, Deontology and Morality

When we talk about ethics and morals, it is common to confuse or ignore that there

are differences between them. Within professional life, there is another concept based on

ethics and morality: Deontology.

However, in practice, ethics and morals are often used as synonyms because they

both guide our actions. But while morality defines our actions as good or bad, ethics allows

us to reflect first on the reason for these different moral rules. Deontology takes its place

in the profession, having a root of ethics and morals that will allow us to have a correct

rationing at the moment of practicing.

We could briefly summarize the different roles of ethics and morality, of the

professional deontology, as in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Differences between Ethics, Morality and Deontology.

Subject Object Normativity Enforcement

Convictions
Principles
Ethics and Moral Good
All Quasi-nil No coercion
morality -> Legitimacy of
social practices
Dignity of profession
From warning
Behaviour in
to exclusion
accordance Depending upon
(depending on
Deontology Profession with the ethical the degree of
the organization
principles institutionalization
of the
Specialized fields
profession)
Emergence of issues
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List of References

Berleur, J. (2005). Morality, Ethics, Deontology, Law, and Enforcement: A Tentative

Clarification. University of Namur, Belgium. International Federation for
Information Processing. IFIP-SIG9.2 2

Dra. Jiménez, F. Mgst. Edu & Ing. Yépez, J. MSc. (2010). Conceptualization of
Deontology.

Echegoyen, J. (2010). Historia de la Filosofía: Filosofía Medieval y Moderna. Volumen

2. Editorial Edinumen. [Online] Available of https://www.e-
torredebabel.com/Historia-de-la-filosofia/Filosofiamedievalymoderna/Kant/Kant-
ImperativoCategorico.htm

Iezamary. (2012). Concepto, Caracaterísticas de Deontología. [Online] Available of

https://es.slideshare.net/lezamary/concepto-carteristicas-deontologia

Romero, H. (1812). The universal morality or the Duties of Man founded on his nature:
Practice of morality. Madrid: Señores García y Compañía.