Reference no: EM132453111
Deontological theories
Deontologists tend to emphasize duty and absolute rules, to be followed whether they lead to good or ill consequences in particular cases. One example is: Do not lie. An act is ethical if it complies with ethical rules and you chose it for that reason.
Immanuel Kant, the philosopher often presented as the prime example of a deontologist, contributed many important ideas to ethical theory. We mention three of them here. One is the principle of universality: We should follow rules of behavior that we can universally apply to everyone. This principle is so fundamental to ethical theory that we already accepted it in our explanation of ethics.
Second, deontologists argue that logic or reason determines rules of ethical behavior, that actions are intrinsically good because they follow from logic. Kant believed that rationality is the standard for what is good. We can reason about what makes sense and act accordingly, or we can act irrationally, which is evil. The view that something is evil because it is illogical might seem unconvincing, but Kant's instruction to "Respect the reason in you"-that is, to use your reason, rationality, and judgment, rather than emotions, when making a decision in an ethical context-is a wise one.
Third, Kant stated a principle about interacting with other people: One must never treat people as merely means to ends, but rather as ends in themselves.
Kant took an extreme position on the absolutism of ethical rules. He argued, for instance, that it is always wrong to lie. For example, if a person is looking for someone he intends to murder, and he asks you where the intended victim is, it is wrong for you to lie to protect the victim. Most people would agree that there are cases in which even very good, universal rules should be broken-because of the consequences.
Ethicists are philosophers (and others) who study ethics.
Pick out one short, interesting quotation from the textbook about the philosopher, or by the philosopher, and discuss what it means to you.
Write in 3-4 good paragraphs and no plagiarism at all.