Deontology
Deontology is an aspect of ethics that is concerned with the ethic associated with the duties. Deontological ethics regard duty as the basis of morality among the human. The speaker tries to elaborate on different deontologists’ ideas concerning the affinity between both duties and morality that comes with them. Deontology comes from the Greek word Deon, meaning duty. Moral duty is transcultural; this implies that the duty is universal and binding.
In deontological ethics, moral laws are paramount. There should be recognition and submission to the moral law. Speakers agree with Emmanuel Kant, a German philosopher recommending that we act out of goodwill. According to Kant, moral duties are absolute, which means that they are always binding. Two categories of duties are negative and positive duties. Positive duties mean actively doing something while negative duties mean restraining oneself from; doing something, for example, not cheating or stealing. Moral duties contain both positive and negative elements.
Non-maleficence duty means that one should not harm; this is a negative duty. Instead of harm, we should prevent harm from happening, for example, calling the police. It also involves taking action to prevent future harms. Most of deontological agree that duty is the basis of morality but disagree on the source of morality. On goodwill and self-esteem, Kant urges us to develop our goodwill and self-esteem to do our duties consistently. Person of goodwill; act out of a sense of moral duty and following the moral law. Deontology’s essential claims are; duty is the basis of morality, moral principles as a universal, reason are essential in applying the moral principle, and moral community consists of rational beings. Prima facie duties are future-looking duties, duties based on past obligations, and ongoing duties. Critics of deontology promote an abstract moral philosophy that sacrifices the community in the name of individual autonomy, and it forces more on justice abstract and neglect moral sentiments.