Deontological Ethical Theories

Deontology Deontological ethical theories are a contradiction to Consequentialist, or Teleological theories because they are not based off the consequences of your actions. The core of the word means duty or obligation, and that is what the central focus is based on. When used in the manner, the theory would mean that actions are important, rather than consequences. The central philosophy of this theory is categorical imperative, which is just a methodology for evaluating reasons to act in a specific manner. Mitchell expanded on this by saying, “All a person needed to do, Kant thought, was to consider whether a proposed action could serve as a universal law without self-contradiction.” You could envision a world facing the exact same problem that you are facing, and imagine the entire populous taking the same action that you are proposing. If you believe …show more content…
At the entrance to the park sits a beautiful flower bed, with a plethora of exotic and unfamiliar flowers. As you walk in you are instantly urged to just pick a flower, because there are thousands of them and picking only one flower will not make a difference. They are beautiful, and if you live under the maxim that allows you to do what you want, you pick a flower and move on. Categorical imperative shows that there are contradictions and irrationalities to your decision, and you would have to stop to consider those (Mitchell, 2014). If every person entering the park decided to pick a flower then the flower bed would be quickly depleted, and this is a direct contradiction to the original reason for wanting a flower. You saw something so beautiful and wanted a piece of it, but enabling everyone to do it would mean that it would not exist as is for very long. Unfortunately, people pick the flowers, and by the end of the day when you leave it the flower bed is an abomination of its former