05 July 2017
Deontology
-study of the nature of duty and obligation
– more than mindless duty
– we know what the right to do is
– “why must I do the right thing?” because it is the right thing to do
– should be sufficient to do the right thing
– how can I find out what my duty is? -> by using the universability method to test
rightness/wrongness of actions
Universability
0 identify the action
1 formulate the maxim; describes the scenario and action; personal sop
2 test for universabilty; imagine the maxim as a universal law, is there a self-
contradiction? internal validity of the law;
3 resulting duty
Formal Morality – method for generating the duties yourself (giving recipe instead
of finished product), Deontology
Substantive Morality – immediate list of duties (10 commandments, laws)
0 false promises – borrowing money without intending to pay
