Deontological Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Deontological Ethics - Essay Example This project aims to shed more light on deontology and virtue ethics, which are some of the principles on which philosophy is founded. The term deontology is derived from two Greek words: Deon, which means duty and logos, meaning study. Contrary to aretaic theories that normally focus on the character and personality that is instilled within us, deontology is based on the deontic theories which normally guide and asses some of the decisions that we make in our day-to-day activities. In making such decisions; nevertheless, we are expected to take into consideration the aspects of the society that are morally required, morally forbidden and are morally permitted. Concisely, we can refer to deontology as the moral aspects of our life that guides some of the decisions that we make. Deontological theories can be classified into several categories, which range from agent-centred, patent-centred, contractarian, as well as deontological theories based on Kant. The agent-centred theories hold the belief that decisions should normally be made based on objective reasoning (Burnor and Raley 426). The patent centred theories, on the other hand, argue that decisions should normally be based on the rights of various people within the society. In as much as some aspects of these theories are different, they share the ideology that choices cannot always be justified by their effects. This is to imply that no matter the moral outcome of some decisions, they should not be carried out. Unlike consequentialism, which does not take into consideration some of the aspects of society, the deontological theories have largely been appreciated. It is because they provide those who are involved in the decision-making process to consider various aspects within the society including friends, family members as well as some of the projects that are being undertaken by the community. Similarly, scholars have often argued that the deontological theories are not too demanding. This is