Examine the Key Features of Deontology

The first strength of Kantian deontology is that it rises above the most prominent flaw of relative theories; such as utilitarianism and situation ethics, it does not require a prediction of an actions consequence it determining its morality. As the theory is based upon the moral absolute of doing your duty it makes decision-making clearer and should lead everyone to the same conclusion without the need for lengthy calculations. One can even use their reason to decide their action ahead of time.

However, there are those who will argue that there can never be moral absolutes. If the theory were to become universalised then different cultures and opinions will not be taken into account and new laws would be forced upon them, for example there are cultures where human sacrifice takes place. Kant would believe that to sacrifice human life would be to breach the duty of preserving life, but who are we to try and change the culture of those who have been living in the same way for thousands of years?

Another strength of deontology is the justice that is paramount to the theory. Again this corrects what many see as a flaw in theories like utilitarianism where punishing an innocent minority can be justified if it were to benefit the majority. The universal nature of the categorical imperative means scapegoats and hierarchies are eliminated and no ones life is dispensable, everyone has intrinsic value and equal worth. On the other hand, in a situation where a terrorist has twelve hostages, yet is prepared to release ten if you choose two to be killed, deontology would prevent the lives of the ten being saved and all would be killed together. As such, despite the equality being perceived as a strength, it can be described as a weakness in others.

There is also support for using duty as the motive of an action. Some argue it is a concept that is understandable and easily universalised. It disregards self interest and natural inclinations and promotes that an action should be taken because simply, it is right to do so. This however is strongly opposed as many argue that it does not allow for natural human compassion, kindness or sympathy as a genuine motive. It is inflexible and cold and goes against a lot of human nature.

Perhaps the strongest criticism of deontology though is that Kant does not allow for conflicting duties. For example, your duty tells you not to lie, but so is allowing someone to be injured by another. So what do you do if you can protect the victim by a simple lie? Modern philosopher W.D Ross tried to amend Kant's theory so that the problem would take priorities into account. He argued that Kantian duties are not absolute but 'prima facie' duties that allow exceptions. As such, duties are not conditional but can always be overridden by a more compelling duty, for example a firework hits a girl and her clothes catch fire. She would