Name:

Course: 8 B

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS vs. PROFESSIONAL

DEONTOLOGY

WHAT IS DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS, ITS ETYMOLOGY?

The word Deontology derives from the Greek words for duty (deon) and science
(or study) of (logos). In contemporary moral philosophy, Deontology is one of
those kinds of normative theories regarding which choices are morally required,
forbidden, or permitted. In other words, deontology falls within the domain of
moral theories that guide and assess our choices of what we ought to do.
HOW PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND DEONTOLOGY ARE DIFFERENT, HOW
ARE THE ALIKE?
Professional ethics is commonly referred to with terms such as the worthy task,
the noble contribution, the eminent science fundamental to the profession, and
so on. However, it is somewhat ironic to see how such sound, and indeed
transcendental judgments appear as so much hot air in the contrast between
words and deeds. This is what occurs in the case of professional ethics in
psychology: we see excellent intentions, but at the same time scarce activity to
match those worthy intentions. In practice, the deontology of the psychology
profession, does not yet occupy the place it deserves in the training curriculum
of psychology students; nor have psychology professionals fully appreciated
the need for a set of mechanisms that will guarantee the continual updating of
deontological aspects.
WHAT ARE THE MOST RELEVANT THEORIES OF DEONTOLOGICAL
ETHICS, BRIEFLY EXPLAIN?
Deontological theories are normative theories. They do not presuppose any
particular position on moral ontology or on moral epistemology. Presumably, a
deontologist can be a moral realist of either the natural (moral properties are
identical to natural properties) or nonnatural (moral properties are not
themselves natural properties even if they are nonreductively related to natural
properties) variety. Or a deontologist can be an expressivist, a constructivist, a
transcendentalist, a conventionalist, or a Divine command theorist regarding
the nature of morality. Likewise, a deontologist can claim that we know the
content of deontological morality by direct intuition, by Kantian reflection on
our normative situation, or by reaching reflective equilibrium between our

particular moral judgments and the theories we construct to explain them

(theories of intuitions).
Nonetheless, although deontological theories can be agnostic regarding
metaethics, some metaethical accounts seem less hospitable than others to
deontology. For example, the stock furniture of deontological normative ethics
rights, duties, permissionsfits uneasily in the realist-naturalist's corner of
the metaethical universe. (This is why many naturalists, if they are moral
realists in their meta-ethics, are consequentialists in their ethics.) Nonnatural
realism, conventionalism, transcendentalism, and Divine command seem more
hospitable metaethical homes for deontology. (For example, the paradox of
deontology above discussed may seem more tractable if morality is a matter of
personal directives of a Supreme Commander to each of his human
subordinates.) If these rough connections hold, then weaknesses with those
metaethical accounts most hospitable to deontology will weaken deontology as
a normative theory of action. Some deontologists have thus argued that these
connections need not hold and that a naturalist-realist meta-ethics can ground
a deontological ethics (Moore 2004).

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND THE WEAKNESS OF DEONTOLOGICAL

ETHICS?

ADVANTAGES
Deontological ethics allow people to stay very consistent because they
would perform an act in pratically the same way each time they satisfy
their obligation. In addition, followers of deontological ethics often place
their duties or priorities on family, friends, or other people they are very
familiar with. If the person had a duty to the general public, the system
"places a cap on duty's demands" and "avoids the overly demanding and
alienating aspects of consequentialism".
The system also provides a reason for followers to be "supererogatory".
In ethics, "supererogatory......indicates an act that is good but not
morally required to be done". An example is if a man hijacked a bus of
students and said if one person dies, then he will let everyone free. The
teacher who believes in deontology would volunteer to die because he
feels it's his obligation to protect the safety of his students, and many
others would view his act as "supererogatory" because he is exceeding
his duty to protect his students
WEAKNESS
2

A big disadvantage is that a deontologist may not violate a duty to

prevent several violations caused by other people, and this is often
called the "paradox of deontological constraints". Expressed in another
way, the system has the "seeming irrationality of our having duties or
permissions to make the world morally worse". In some cases, the 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.
Also, for some duties, the deontologist doesn't seem to have a logical
reason for following it. For example, a person may make it his duty to go
to work on time, but why he made it his duty is often unclear. Ordinary
people may cite not going to work late in order to avoid trouble, but they
probably wouldn't make it a duty.
In addition, the system does not provide a good way of dealing with
situations where duties conflict with each other. Back to the man above,
if he is late for work, should the man break the law and speed to work,
endangering other people in the public, or should the man arrive to work
late? There does not seem to be a way of deciding which violation is
worst because there is no ranking system on the state of affairs after the
duty, and either way, the man will break a duty.

Bibliography:

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deontological_ethics
http://www.papelesdelpsicologo.es/english/1746.pdf
http://true-reality.net/csc300/resources/Resources/Reference/EthicsPresentations/deontology/