Deontology | Ethics Defined — Transcript

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1. 0:05Deontology
2. 0:08Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong.
3. 0:13It is often associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant.
4. 0:18Kant believed that ethical actions follow universal moral laws,
5. 0:22such as “Don’t lie.
6. 0:23Don’t steal.
7. 0:24Don’t cheat.”
8. 0:26Deontology is simple to apply.
9. 0:29It just requires that people follow the rules and do their duty.
10. 0:34This approach tends to fit well with our natural intuition about what is or isn’t ethical.
11. 0:40Unlike consequentialism, which judges actions by their results,
12. 0:44deontology doesn’t require weighing the costs and benefits of a situation.
13. 0:50This avoids subjectivity and uncertainty because you only have to follow set rules.
14. 0:57Despite its strengths, rigidly following deontology can produce results that many people find unacceptable.
15. 1:05For example, suppose you’re a software engineer
16. 1:08and learn that a nuclear missile is about to launch that might start a war.
17. 1:14You can hack the network and cancel the launch,
18. 1:16but it’s against your professional code of ethics to break into any software system
19. 1:20without permission.
20. 1:22And, it’s a form of lying and cheating.
21. 1:25Deontology advises not to violate these rules.
22. 1:29However, in letting the missile launch, thousands of people will die.
23. 1:36So, following the rules makes deontology easy to apply.
24. 1:41But it also means disregarding the possible consequences of our actions
25. 1:45when determining what is right and what is wrong.