Deontology and Utilitarianism

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[@VeronicaAshby-gc1fk]

Our lives are filled with dilemmas, What to do what not to do! From my point of view, we need to be aware of the role of Deontology, Utilitarianism and have a good measure of common sense.

[@newlife904]

Thank you for this straight forward example

[@rudderssands2734]

I have an exam in Law & Ethics and this is great! Thankyou!

[@billwhitehead8132]

you are welcome thanks. I hope that you passed :-)

[@iveamm]

@Rudders Sands did you graduate?

[@rudderssands2734]

@@iveamm yep, and I'm still nursing. Thanks Bill 😅

[@billwhitehead4066]

good to hear it!!!@@rudderssands2734

[@greenspringvalley]

I suspect it's a false dichotomy. There is more to morallity, such as empathy.

[@davidtroyer5743]

What makes you think empathy is moral? This is begging the question. I don't disagree with you that empathy is moral, I am simply pointing out the fallacy in your own argument. In fact, if it always moral to be empathetic, then it is deontology and there is no false dichotomy.

[@jukaa1012]

@@davidtroyer5743 nope, empathy for the many is a thing. Also empathy is always moral because it is at the core of humanity. It is the key to our evolution, and as far as we know, the only source of higher intelligence (at our lvl)

[@davidtroyer5743]

@@jukaa1012 I don't understand your point. I agree that empathy is moral. My argument is that since empathy is always moral (making it a deontological principle), there is no such thing as immoral empathy resulting in a true dichotomy rather than a false dichotomy.

[@firstaidsack]

@@davidtroyer5743
Couldn't you say that maximizing utility is a deontological principle such that utilitarianism itself is deontological? I think deontology is about morally evaluating concrete actions while utilitarianism is about morally evaluating their consequences. And empathy is an emotion, not an action. So how can it be moral or immoral?

[@davidtroyer5743]

@@firstaidsack Fair, I suppose I was appealing to the actionable effects of empathy vs apathy.
To your first point, I suppose it depends on what you mean by utility. The issue boils down to what has derived the foundation for what it means to be moral. If it is you or I who determines this then there is no way to reasonably measure anything as moral or immoral. If it is based on what causes the least amount of harm, who decides there shouldn't be harm and what determined the threshold of harm? Again, if it is you or I then we wind up in the same place. Simply stated, utilitarianism more likely finds permissible actions that you would object to if they were done to you, ultimately challenging this framework.
At the end of the day, if Richard Dawkins is right and all there is in the universe is pitiless indifference, what difference does it make? We live to die, nothing more and nothing less.