DEONTOLOGICAL

ETHICS

Whereas the teleological concepts allow the rigour of the brain, deontological
deontological
promotes that of the heart. As mentioned earlier. 'deon' means duty - so
ethics pertains to the duty orientation. Accurding to this principle, people behave
ethically as they find it their solemn duty towards that. This theory suggests that it is
children whatever be
the duty of the parents to protect the life and interests of their
that. Applica
the consequences for that. Parents must take appropriate measures for
described above,
tion of Deontological Ethics in the case of Edward - David-Fran as
would provide a single solution - that too in favour of Edward. The simple solution
being that since Edward is a small child under the care of his parents, it is the first and
foremost duty of David and Fran to see that Edward survives. So, they recourse to the
desperate bid to save the life of Edward from the hunches of the man-eater tribals, and
thereby allowing themselves to be annihilated by the man-eaters. The concern here,
has been primarily for the duties and not for any other things. Since, the parents duty
is to try to save the life of their minor offspring, they do that without having any eye
on the consequences.
Deontological school considers factors other than consequences while examin
ing the ethical judgements and actions. The Deontological school is based on the
 DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS 59

concept and belief of duty.

nents of this school Immanuel Kant (1724-
of thought.
1804) is one of the major expo-
Accordingupon torational
intuition or emotion, rather it depends Kant, ethics
basis ofdoes
the not depend upon
interaction. The
concept of'goodwill plays acardinal role in the framework of Kant. He believes that
persons having goodwill are motivated to do the right thing towards others. Kant
claims three typesS OT reasons to have for persons to become dutiful - these are:

KANT'S CONDITION TO BE DUTIFUL

(1) A person may do his duty out of self interest, as. when he does what is right
not because he enjoys doing it but because it will get him something ne
wants.

(2) Aperson may carry out his duty motivated by direct inclination that is, by
the immediate satisfaction or pleasure it gives him.
(3) Aperson may do something simply because he believes it is the correct
thing to do by moral standards.
Kant believes in the existence of two different worlds for us - the phenom
enal and the noumenal works. In the phenomenon world what happens is recorded,
registered by the human senses and caught in the gamout of experiences that he
accumulates through his living the life of ahuman being. The noumenon worldis the
world of oughts and shoulds. Here, the individuals enjoy a pure life through giving
moral reasons extended to their logical ends. Anoble action might have been initiated
by a person the action remains noble or not depending upon the nature and objective
behind the action itself. The action ceases to be noble if it is initiated basically to
satisfy the selfish interest of the person. If an action is initiated from the sense of duty
or from a moral will that could be branded by a goodwill and an action with adequate
and proper goodwill make one noble for it. Kant finds that the knowledge of the
phenomenon world could be used to earn experience and could lead to a culminative
life of concern for noble things. The degree of nobility depends upon ones ability to
integrate goodwill with experience or a sense of duty with the potents for the actuals.
Human being has the capacity to apply moral judgement segregating the 'oughts' from
the ought-nots'. Based on one's basic sense of duty or the grounding of the moral
judgement,one does the ethical or unethical actions. Non-deliberate acts of unethical
varieties do not impose aspersions on the actor. Imposed actions cannot have the
stigma on the actor but on the impositor. If the boss forces the subordinate to do a
crime despite the moral protests from the subordinate, the onus of the work itself goes
to the boss and not to the subordinate. According to Kant, moral imperatives are the
commands of the soul. From the commands of the soul, the moral law emerges that
extends to the extremes of the moral reasons and establishes or tends to establish a
sense of duty- which, obviously, is the sense of action initiated or fostered by the
moral principles. Moral principles therefore, are based on universal principle of
shoulds and oughts and are irrespective of what one finds or thinks are fit for their
personal life or their choices for the related world. Kant believes the postulates of
experience tend to condition the human action and could lead to the usual varieties of
hedonism as self love, selfish action etc. Whereas the moral logic leads to the
universal principles of noble living, hedonism fragments the universal notion of
 MANAGEMAENT
BUSINESS AND
ETHICS IN
vice forms the moral
60
ones to segregate vitue from
sense that allowS out the virtue and
vice in action and
virtue. A proper
world. This applies
pure reason to find
clarity
segregates
that unfolds before the actor of virtue or
through a sense of
one from the other own words:
initiator of vice. Inhis meaning, In th.
je fais des projects, et be soir je fais des sottises" -
"Le matin
evening I commit follies. This fluctuations
morning Imake good resolutions; in the
individuals. Actions are not judged on the basis of the
are based on the limitationsof of duty. Kant outlines the relationshin
conformity to the standards
results but their 'Practical Reasons' as:
and happiness in his work
between morality
may make ourselves happybut
"Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we
make ourselves worthy of happiness". Kants wants us to be placed above
how we may emphasis on duty over
the beasts on par with the gods through our placing higherto create a moral society
beauty, morality abov happiness. The final target would be
state of perfection in
or an idealcommunity of rational beings who tend to apply the what would be the
the state of imperfection. A society fostered by the sense of duty, is
Transcendental Aesthetic.
ideal society in ethical terms. Kant postulates for -
Transcendental Analytic and transcendental dialectic. In this 'Critique, of Pure Rea
son', Kant explains.
"I call knowledge transcendental which is occupied not so much with objects,
with our a priori concepts of the objects." In the transcendental logic, pure reason
is applied to carry a thing upto its end through the logical process of culmination.
Laws of thoughts culminate into the laws of things - this is because things are known
through the thoughts about them. The transcendental dialectic, as has been men
tioned, deals with the phenomenal and noumenal worlds. Phenomenon tells us about
what the world is all about but noumenon tells us about the 'thing-in-itself or the
world that is based on the applications of shoulds and oughts. Moral life is based on
the conception of the noumenon and is free from the shackly of inclination and
bondages. This means we integrate the notions and conceptions of the noumenon with
the perceptions and practicesof the phenomen. The ultimate goal that is fulfilled is
the establishment of a worldof human being above the beastly standard and closer to
gadliness.