Normative Ethics

Deontological Ethical Theories

The term deontology comes from the Greek word deon or duty. Deontological theories are primarily based on appeals to duty or some kind of unconditional obligation on the part of the moral agent. Different theories offer a variety of possible sources for this obligation. For some, it is rooted in the will of God or some other divine mandate, while for others it is rooted in the dictates of nature or reason.

Divine command theories of morality are common in theistic religious traditions, which assert some form of a personal God or gods. According to these theories, the nature of morality is prescribed by what God or the gods will to be done. Something is thus good if it accords with God's will and evil if it contradicts God's will. This idea was given a classic treatment in Plato's Euthyphro, where he seeks to demonstrate that the Good must be something independent of the will of God. However, this tradition has persisted and been given particularly vigorous defense in the reformed tradition of Christianity—for example, in the work of John Calvin and Karl Barth. Versions of divine command theories can be found in Judaism and Islam as well.

Kantian ethics, in contrast, seeks to root moral principles not in the external authority of a divine being, but in the autonomous exercise of human reason. Kant's theory is encapsulated in his Categorical Imperative. The first version of this theory states that one should always act in a way in which one thinks people should always act. By rooting his theory in the moral and logical consistency of the individual human will, Kant seeks an unassailable foundation from which to provide moral guidance. If the human will can consistently will a moral principle as universally binding, then it can be trusted to be a reliable principle for action.

Kant's second formulation of the Categorical Imperative puts its emphasis not on the universal validity of human reason but on the inviolability of the human person. The third formulation puts its emphasis on the autonomy of the human reason as a legislating will, calling on moral agents to act as autonomous legislators in a universal kingdom of ends.

The force of these three formulations, as Kant proposes them, is to offer a comprehensive conception of the nature of morality as rooted in human freedom and reason. Yet he believes that the moral law arrived at in this fashion is universally binding since all rational beings are capable of reaching the same conclusions. However, Kant's moral stringency is such that he does not allow for the possibility of contradictions among different moral principles. On the contrary, he believes that all duties are equally binding on moral agents and none can override another.

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