DEONTOLOGY

– According to Immanuel Kant, it is a moral strategy based on laws and obligations to one's
profession. Deontology gets its name from the Greek word "deont," which means something that
is legally binding and “logos” is science.

Who is Immanuel Kant?

- Immanuel Kant (1724—1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central
Enlightenment thinkers. He is known as one of the most influential philosophers in 18 th
century. Ethics and metaphysics had a lasting impact up to this day.

Between hypothetical and categorical imperatives, Kant split his deontological principles.
Categorical imperatives, which Kant characterized as moral and unwavering imperatives, are at
the center of much of his writing and the deontological approach.
KANTIAN ETHICS - are a set of moral standards that, regardless of the setting or
circumstance, are applicable to all people.
Some duties are invincible in Kant's eyes. These are the commitments to carry out
specific kinds of acts. The action is obligatory because it fits within a specific category, which is
what Kant refers to as a categorical imperative.
Kant’s three Formulations of this Principle
1. The most famous is “Act only by that maxim by which you can, at the same time, will
that it be a universal law.”
- In other words, you must consider whether it would be acceptable for everyone to
take this course of action while deciding what to do. So, if I ever find it convenient to
tell a lie, I should consider whether it would be acceptable for everyone to do so. The
answer is obviously no because if everyone was lying, then there would be no
meaningful interactions between any two people. I must therefore never lie in Kant's
eyes. Lying is a morally repugnant behavior.
2. Kant’s second formulation of the categorical imperative is to “So act as to treat
humanity, whether in your own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end in
itself, never as a means only.”
- Never use another person as a tool or a means to an end. a timely reminder for us on a
challenging day. Each human has his or her own predetermined goals and needs
3. And lastly “every rational being must so act as if he were through his maxim always a
lawmaking member in the universal kingdom of ends.”
To sum up, all people should be seen as naturally deserving of respect and dignity, according to
Kant. He maintained that these obligations, which are based on a deontological ethic, are the
source of all morality.

Ethical Theories –
Part of the basis for decision-making for Decision Making When is provided by ethical theories.
These theories express the perspectives that people hold, hence ethics are at issue. As they make
decisions, they seek advice. Each theory emphasizes different point such as predicting the
outcomes and following one’s duties to others with considers ethically correct decision.
To further understand this, you must be some understanding set of goals that decision makers
seek to achieve to be successful. Four of these goals are:
Beneficence - The decision-maker is guided by the beneficence principle to make morally
responsible decisions or simply do what is right and what is good. This concept states that ethical
theories should aim to do as much good as possible because most good benefits the most people.
Least Harm – When there seems to be no good option, the principle of least harm is applied.
People may contend that they bear a higher level of responsibility to "do no harm" than to act in
someone else's best interests. For example, a student has a larger responsibility to simply walk
past a teacher in the hallway rather than to make derogatory remarks about that teacher as he/she
walks past even though the student had failed that teacher’s class.
Respect for Autonomy – According to this notion, decision-making should put an emphasis on
empowering individuals to make autonomous choices that affect their daily lives. Because they
are the only ones who fully comprehend the lifestyle they have chosen, people should control
over their lives as possible.
Justice - According to the justice ethical concept, decision-makers should concentrate on taking
acts that are fair to all parties concerned. It refers to the requirement that situations with
mitigating circumstances have a crucial distinction that distinguishes them from cases like them
and supports the inconsistent outcome.

FORMS OF ETHICAL THEORIES

Utilitarianism – ethical theories are based on one’s ability to predict the consequences of an
action. There are two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism
Act Utilitarianism states that one should act in a way that benefits the greatest number of people
regardless of their own interests or feelings
Rule Utilitarianism takes into account the law and is concerned with fairness.
Virtue - According to ethical theory, a person is judged on his or her character rather than an
action that might differ from his or her typical behavior. One weakness of virtue ethical theory is
that it does not take into consideration a person’s change in moral character.

GOODWILL:
GOODWILL: - Immanuel Kant's analysis of commonsense ideas begins with the thought that the
only thing good without qualification is a "goodwill".
- The idea of good will is supposed to be the idea of who is committed only to make decisions
that she holds to be morally worthy and who takes moral considerations in themselves to be
conclusive reasons for guiding her behavior.
- The good will is unconditionally good; it is good in itself.
- To act of a “good will” means to act out of a sense of moral obligation or “duty.” In other
words, the moral agent does a particular action not because of what it produces (its
consequences) in terms of human experience, but because the agent recognizes by reasoning that
it is the morally right thing to do and, consequently, there is a moral duty or obligation to do that
action.
- For example, medicine is good, though not if taken in a dose that is excessive, considering the
age, weight or other condition of the patient. Wealth and power are good, though not in the hands
of those who use them only for selfish purposes, or who use them for evil.
- According to Kant the only thing that is good in itself is the “good will.” The will is what
drives our actions and grounds the intention of our act. It is good when it acts from duty. To
clarify, Kant thinks the good will is the only thing that is intrinsically valuable. He also gave an
idea to a "good without limitation".
- GOOD WITHOUT LIMITATION: Something’s goodness is limited when it depends upon
external conditions. For example, medicine is good, though not if taken in a dose that is
excessive, considering the age, weight or other condition of the patient. Wealth and power are
good, though not in the hands of those who use them only for selfish purposes, or who use them
for evil. Something is good without limitation, therefore, if it is good no matter what its external
circumstances. It is good without limitation if it is good and cannot under any circumstances be
bad.