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Deontology

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), the progenitor of deontology, is among the most influential philosophers of the Western intellectual tradition. Kant taught and wrote late in the Modern period of philosophy, defined as the 1500s through the 1700s. Kant's doctrines had such an impact on philosophy that they were considered a revolutionary approach, worthy of consideration separately from all other schools and philosophers of the Modern period.

Kant authored an enormous volume of philosophical writings on topics as diverse as geometry, political theory, the physics of time and space, metaphysics, geography, cosmology, and moral philosophy. Kant's moral philosophy and the ethical theory of deontology that developed from it are of primary concern in public relations.

Who was Immanuel Kant?

Kant was born in Königsberg, Germany in 1724, where he lived almost exclusively until his death in 1804. He began his career as a mathematics professor at the University of Königsberg, where he was appointed to a chair of metaphysics at age 46. He went on to become “the first great professor of philosophy” (Beck, 1963, p. x). Paul Guyer wrote that “Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781) shook the very foundations of the intellectual world” (1992, p. i). Kant's impact can be seen in almost all subsequent philosophical schools.

Kant was fourth of nine children of a harness maker. He was reared in a devout Protestant family. Kant was later deemed the premier philosopher of Protestantism due to his unadulterated belief in individual autonomy. Evaluations of his family's economic means ranged from modest to impoverished. Although Kant's writings were perceived as foreboding, he gained renown as an engaging lecturer who drew students from throughout Europe. A former student described Kant's “playfulness, wit, and humor” and, although Kant is often portrayed as a solitary individual, friends lauded his social graces and skill as a conversationalist.

Kant was a productive author, producing 20 books and hundreds of essays, most in German and several in Latin (Sullivan, 1989). He was also an inspiring professor; a former student remarked, “His hearers certainly never left a single lecture in his ethics without having become better men” (Beck, 1963, p. ix).

Kant's Contribution

Kant radically altered the thought patterns in Western culture and turned philosophy inward toward the self. Herbert J. Paton, an emeritus professor of moral philosophy at the University of Oxford, asserted: “Kant contrived to say something new about morality. This remarkable achievement has compelled every subsequent writer on moral philosophy to examine his views” (1967, p. 15). All philosophers must now include Kant in their philosophizing and argue for or against him because his impact is so great that he cannot be ignored.

Kantian contributions to philosophy include his expositions of moral worth, duty, and good will. Moral worth and duty are arguably the most well known tenets of his doctrine, but Marcia Baron explained that these two constructs are tools Kant used to illustrate the crux of his philosophy: the good will. Baron explained, “The good will is manifested in actions done from duty” (1995, p. 183). Actions done from duty differ from actions inspired by inclination or self-interest. Therefore, Kant's discussion of duty provides a means to analyze the good will. Kant's exposition of the morally good will profoundly influenced the course of philosophy.

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