DEONTOLOGY

OBJECTIVES

1. Discuss the basic principles of deontology;

2. Apply the concepts of agency and autonomy to one’s
moral experience; and
3. Evaluate actions using the universalizability test.
 During the flag ceremony of that Monday morning,
January 24, 2017, the mayor of Baguio City awarded a
certificate from the City Government that commended
Reggie Cabututan for his “extraordinary show of honesty
in the performance of his duties or practice of profession.”
Reggie is a taxi driver who just three days before the
awarding, drove his passenger, an Australian named Trent
Shields, to his workplace. The foreigner, having little sleep
and was ill the previous day, left his suitcase inside the taxi
cab after he reach his destination. The suitcase contained a
laptop, a passport, and an expensive pair of headphones,
which Trent claimed amounted to around P260,000.
 Consider closely the moment when Reggie found that
Trent had left a suitcase in his taxi cab: If he were to
return the suitcase, there was no promise of an award
from the City Government of Baguio and no promise of
reward from the owner. What if he took the suitcase and
sold its contents? That could surely help him supplement
his daily wages. Life as a taxi driver in the Philippines is
not easy. A little extra cash would go a long way to put
food on the table and to pay tuition fees for his children.
Yet, Reggie returned the suitcase without the promise
of a reward.
 QUESTIONS :

1. Why did Reggie return the suitcase?

2. What is wrong about keeping and benefitting
from the valuables that someone misplaced?
3. What is duty?
 Thank you
for listening!