Deontological Ethics:

Immanuel Kant
Prof. Raul Samson
Hum 02
Deontological Ethics
 derives from the Greek words for duty
(deon) and science (or study) of
(logos).

 is the normative ethical theory that the 

morality of an action should be based
on whether that action itself is right or
wrong under a series of rules, rather
than based on the consequences of
the action.
Deontological Ethics
 It is sometimes described as duty-
obligation-, or rule-based ethics.
Autonomous Reason,
Goodwill, and Duty
 Kant insists that every time we
confront moral situations there are
formally operative a priori principles
that can be brought to the fore.

 Highlighting these priori truths can

better help the learner of ethics sort
through his/her task of living ethically
Autonomous Reason,
Goodwill, and Duty
 Kant’s research on ethics has named
these as reason, goodwill, and duty.

 These are, for Kant, respectively, the

foundation (reason), source (goodwill),
and motivation (duty) of ethical living.
Autonomous Reason,
Goodwill and Duty
 The foundation of sound ethics for
Immanuel Kant can only be the
authority of human reason.

 The voice of God is not heard directly

today while man is living in this
passing world.
Autonomous Reason,
Goodwill and Duty
 Voices of ministers and priests who claim to
speak for God are but other human beings
who make use of their own reason in trying
to understand what goes on around them.

 This common human reason is also what

they use as they comprehend the
revelation that is said to be the foundation
of their particular religion.
Autonomous Reason,
Goodwill and Duty
 Given that they share the same
humanity with everybody else including
the students ethics, what they say ought
to pass through the norm of reason that
is internal to the moral subject
himself/herself.

 Otherwise, arbitrariness holds sway in

their claim to authority and what they
capriciously hold as binding or
gratuitously free.
Obligation is Understood as “Man as
an End in Himself/Herself,”
Autonomous, and Universalizable
 Obligation for the human person is
something one’s reason elects and
his/her goodwill owns simply as
something she ought to do.
 Obligation is simply a must, a
“categorical imperative” or a duty that
is defined by reason as doable for
man’s volition and, therefore, should
be carried out by the human person.
Obligation is Understood as “Man
as an End in Himself/Herself,”
Autonomous, and Universalizable
 In this sense, “Man as an end in
himself/herself” means the obligation
cannot be passed on to others.

 That is, if confronted by a particular

situation, the human person in his/her
integrity as reason and goodwill is obliged
to do his/her duty as the agent of action.
Kantian Ethics and Religion
 Immanuel Kant fully established the
independence of his ethics from religion via
recognition of reason as the foundation,
goodwill as the source, and duty as the
motivation of what obliges the human
person.
 A “religion is not true to itself,”
according to Kant if it goes against the
what of man “ought to do” as defined
by his/her autonomous reasons and
goodwill that reaches for universality.
Any question?