Teleological Theory vs Deontological Theory

I have always found philosophy interesting, though pursued a degree in political science instead. As I did formally study political ideology formally, there is some overlap to philosophy. That stated I confess my-self relatively new to the study of ethics, and hope this debate with prove thought provoking and educational. A: Introduction to Normative Ethics In the comments it has become clear that many do not understand what is being debated here. As such I wanted to include a brief overview to help voters have a basic understanding of what is being debated, in hopes to further understanding. As con stated “Note that this debate necessarily assumed that there exists an objective morality: that there exists objective good and objective evil. ” Contrasting between Duty based and Consequentialist theories… 1: Deontological or duty based theories: In a general sense, Deontological theories determine morality of an action by asking about the action itself. Kantianism: In my opinion Immanuel Kant is the quintessential deontological philosopher. Those following Kantianism ask two questions before acting. The first question is, can I rationally will that everyone act as I propose to act? If the answer is no, then it is an immoral act. The second question is, Does my action respect the goals of human beings rather than merely using them for my own purposes? As with the previous question if the answer is no, then it is an immoral act. Let’s take lying as an example. (1) (example taken from link) “We should do only those actions that conform to rules that we could/will be adopted universally. ” If we were to lie, we would be following the rule “It is permissible to lie. ” “This rule could not be adopted universally, because it would be self-defeating: people would stop believing one another, and then it would do no good to lie. ” “Therefore, we should not lie. ”(1) Simple enough I hope. Deontology is very black and white. The actions of killing, lying, stealing, etc are deemed immoral no matter the circumstances. Deontology has several different theories. Many other philosophers have postulated on this topic. At least one other worth noting is Rene Descartes. 2: Teleological or consequential based theories: In a general sense, Teleological theories determine morality of an action by asking about the consequences of the action taken, as opposed to the action itself. The phrase “the ends justify the means” comes to mind. Utilitarianism is archetype consequential theory. Also known as The Greatest happiness principle, Utilitarianism has been defined many different ways. A good general definition is “the belief that a morally good action is one that helps the greatest number of people” (2) Again I will use the action of lying as an example. While the consequences of lying is generally harmful, there are there circumstances that would make lying a moral option. For example, is it moral to lie if it will save your life? Another simple example is killing. It is not hard to see that the consequences of killing generally would be harmful, and thus immoral. However, what about killing in self-defense? Teleological theories, being more circumstantial then black and white, may morally justify actions due to the consequences. Like Deontology, there do exists several different consequential theories. 3: Concluding overview Hopefully this overview, while not entirely comprehensive, will be helpful . B: Contrasting Deontology and Teleology 1: Paradox of deontological constraints As I mentioned earlier, Deontological theories are very black and white. There is not room for exception. This can create a paradox. “The most glaring one (weakness of deontology) is the seeming irrationality of our having duties or permissions to make the world morally worse. Deontologists need their own, non-consequentialist model of rationality, one that is a viable alternative to the intuitively plausible, “act-to-produce-the-best-consequences” model of rationality that motivates consequentialist theories. Until this is done, deontology will always be paradoxical. ” (3) If a deontologists deems killing an immoral action, therefore, creating the duty to not kill, this “duty may actually lead to disastrous consequences. A good example was presented in class by Professor Turner, where a deontologist would not kill Hitler knowing the man would be responsible for killing millions of other people. ” (4) These ethical dilemmas are much easier to approach via teleology. 2: Deontology is to objective Humans are subjective by nature. Thus employing deontology in society poses a problem. Social and cultural norms impact our behaviors and thoughts, making objectivity practically impossible. This shows teleology as a more realistic approach to ethics as the world is not so black and white, and leaves room for social or cultural norms. 3: Example of issues with deontology Scott Davis wrote an introduction to the Barnes and Noble classic by John Stuart Mills “Utilitarianism. ” He uses the sex as an example of the issue of deontology. Again Deontology suggests that “We should do only those actions that conform to rules that we could/will be adopted universally. ” “It is logically possible to will that all human beings must act at all times to maximize their own sexual gratification. This would make our social interactions awkward, to say the least, but would not violate logic. To rule out wicked or impractical rules, the Kantian must fall back on consequences. ” So if sexual gratification is deemed as moral, then deontology would suggest it must be moral in all circumstances. Or in converse, if it is deemed immoral, deontology would deem it immoral in every circumstance. I think this example clearly shows the impracticality of deontology. C: Conclusion Due to the realistic and practical approach of teleology, in contrast with the ethical paradox created by Deontological approaches, Teleology is preferred to deontology in approaching ethics. (1) . http://www.csus.edu... (2) ) . http://www.merriam-webster.com... (3) . http://plato.stanford.edu... (4). http://true-reality.net...