Study Guide
For deontologists, an action is right so long as it is done because it is required by a moral law; that is, it is right so long as it is done out of a sense of duty to that moral law. Different versions of deontology depend on different ways of characterizing what these moral laws are. For example, religious people who believe that obeying their religion's moral precepts are deontologists in this regard.
The most famous deontologist is Immanuel Kant. For Kant, moral laws should not be based on specific purposes or inclinations since these are fleeting and contingent. Moral laws should be grounded on maxims (subjective imperatives) which are universalizable.
Kant formulates this idea as the categorical imperative: "Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should be a universal law." According to Kant, only a universalizable maxim could be a moral law. In turn, it is our duty to obey such moral law. Thus, it is not right for one to make false promises because if everyone does so, then the institution of promising would not make sense. It follows then that it is one's duty not to make false promises.
William David Ross advances this Kantian view by suggesting that "several different fundamental rules or principles are prima facie duties." Prima facie duties "specify factors or features of a situation that speak in favour of or against, morally speaking, an act or what to set ourselves to do." These obligations are called for by specific situations and are immediately recognized by any rational person.
Ross identifies seven distinct prima facie duties:
Fidelity. We should strive to keep promises and be honest and truthful.
Reparation. We should make amends when we have wronged someone else.
Gratitude. We should be grateful to others when they perform actions that benefit us and we should try to return the favor.
Non-injury (or non-maleficence). We should refrain from harming others either physically or psychologically.
Beneficence. We should be kind to others and to try to improve their health, wisdom, security, happiness, and well-being.
Self-improvement. We should strive to improve our own health, wisdom, security, happiness, and well-being.
Justice. We should try to be fair and try to distribute benefits and burdens equably and evenly.
According to David L. Simpson, "there will always be one duty that will have a greater urgency or priority than the others, and that will be the right thing to do, or as Ross terms it one’s duty proper, in a given case." There are times, however, where two or more duties may overlap or may even come into conflict. For Ross, we will always be able to identify with certainty exactly what that duty is: “The decision rests with perception.”
Key Questions
For deontologists, can there be laws of human action which are immoral?
For Kant, why can't we ground moral laws on purposes or sentiments?
If two prima facie duties come into conflict, how do we determine which is the duty proper?
Suggested Readings and Materials
