Key Terms

Teleological/Deontological
By the end of this lesson
you will:
* Know what is meant by
ETHICS.
* Understand the terms
NORMATIVE ETHICS, METAETHICS and APPLIED
ETHICS.
* Understand how
normative ethics can be
TELEOLOGICAL
(CONSEQUENTIALIST) and
DEONTOLOGICAL

What is Ethics
Ethics is the philosophical study of
good and bad, right and wrong.
Ethics is concerned with morality and
is often called moral philosophy.
It explores actions and consequences,
motives, moral decision-making and
human nature.
It explores what you ought to do as
distinct to what you may in fact do.

What is Ethics?
Ethics needs to be applied with logic.
That X believes that abortion is
wrong, is of no interest to a moral
philosopher. Why X believes that
abortion is wrong is what is
important.
Ethics is the study of the reasoning
behind our moral beliefs

Normative Ethics
Begins by asking what things are good
and what things are bad, and what kind
of behaviour is right and wrong.
It decides how people ought to act, how
moral choices should be made and how
the rules apply.
Ethical theories.
E.g. Is telling the truth good? is a
normative question.

Meta-Ethics
Looks at the meaning of the
language used in ethics. E.g. what do
we mean when we use the terms
good, bad, right, wrong.
E.g. What do we mean when we say
that telling the truth is good?

Applied Ethics
The application of theories of right
and wrong and theories of value to
specific issues such as:

Normative Ethics

Teleological
(Consequentialism)

Deontologica
l

Teleological
Concerned with the END or
CONSEQUENCES of an action to
decide if it is right or wrong. It is also
called CONSEQUENTIALISM
Telos = end, goal, purpose in Greek.
If the consequence of my action is
pain and suffering, then the action
is .....
If the consequence of my action is
happiness and love, then the action

Teleological Example
A father steals food in order to feed
his starving family.
How would a teleological thinker
justify this action?
Utilitarianism
Situation Ethics

Strengths & Weaknesses Teleological

Deontological
Certain actions are right or wrong in
themselves (intrinsically right /
wrong) regardless of the
consequences.
It looks at the intention of the person
performing the act.
Acts are intrinsically right or wrong
because of some absolute law,
perhaps laid down by God, or
because of a duty or obligation

Deontological Example
A father steals food in order to feed
his starving family.
How would a deontological thinker
justify this action?
Natural Law

Strengths & Weaknesses Deontological

Tasks
Complete your worksheet on Teleological and
Deontological thinking
Use your moral dilemma worksheet. In each
example:
1.Justify your answer in relation to a particular
moral principle.
2.Determine whether this principle is teleological,
deontological, or a mixture of both.
3.Think of another situation (if you can) in which
you would consider disobeying this principle.