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deontological ethics
(redirected from deontic)

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deontological ethics

Ethical theories that maintain that the moral rightness or wrongness of an action depends on its intrinsic qualities, and not (as in consequentialism) on the nature of its consequences. Deontological ethics holds that at least some acts are morally wrong in themselves (e.g., lying, breaking a promise, punishing the innocent, murder). It often finds expression in slogans such as “Duty for duty's sake.” Deontological theories are often formulated in such a way that the rightness of an action consists in its conformity to a moral rule or command, such as “Do not bear false witness.” The most important exponent of deontological ethics is Immanuel Kant. See also categorical imperative.



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The numerous negations Mother uses in the above excerpt indicate that Nanny will, as the predictive modal "will" stresses, eventually come to discover, find out and know, as the deontic "ought" suggests, that men believe that women are inferior.
Thirdly, virtue ethics takes as fundamental concepts such as virtue itself, or "the good," happiness and so on, rather than deontic concepts like "duty" "obligation," or "right.
 
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