scholarly journals Applying Deontology to Determine What Ought to be Done

Author(s):  
Thalia Raymond

This paper will broadly outline the theory of deontology with a specific focus on how the categorical imperative can be applied in moral decision making. The theory will then be applied to an issue to determine what course of action is consistent with the theory. Two strengths and two weaknesses that can be found in the literature will be considered and how the theory of deontology can be applied in a future teaching career to make ethical decisions will be discussed.

Author(s):  
Christine Boshuijzen-van Burken

Modern military operations are characterized by ubiquitous use of technology, in particular the use of information and communication technologies for real-time information sharing. The use of technology on the battlefield is assumed to improve decision making in military practice. By making use of a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan, namely the Sangin incident in 2011, the author highlights why moral decision making could be hampered by technology. This is partly due to the fact that information and communication technologies subtly connect sub-practices that exist within the broader military practice, thus potentially blurring normative structures. Blurring of normative structures can cause problems for moral decision making on the battlefield, because it is suddenly not clear who is responsible for the course of action.


2020 ◽  
pp. 237929812096153
Author(s):  
Marie McKendall

Using a behavioral ethics framework and YouTube video clips, this exercise engages students in a demonstration of how people employ cognitive errors and self-deception to protect their interests when making ethical decisions. This approach helps instructors supplement lessons using normative theories to teach business ethics. Normative theories focus on the process of reasoning and offer decision rules for how people should make ethical decisions; behavioral ethics examines how people actually make such decisions and studies the frequent mistakes made during the process. Showing people actually making cognitive errors via video clips makes a stronger and more lasting impression than simply discussing it or reading about it.


Author(s):  
Christine Boshuijzen-van Burken

Modern military operations are characterized by ubiquitous use of technology, in particular the use of information and communication technologies for real-time information sharing. The use of technology on the battlefield is assumed to improve decision making in military practice. By making use of a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan, namely the Sangin incident in 2011, the author highlights why moral decision making could be hampered by technology. This is partly due to the fact that information and communication technologies subtly connect sub-practices that exist within the broader military practice, thus potentially blurring normative structures. Blurring of normative structures can cause problems for moral decision making on the battlefield, because it is suddenly not clear who is responsible for the course of action.


Author(s):  
Kenneth E. Aupperle

This article offers a new way to conceptualize decision making in regard to ethical dilemmas and complex social issues. The framework provided here identifies steps essential to achieving the highest expected moral value. This process is complex but practical. The purpose is to help academics, students and practitioners in escaping from a simple black and white logic. The framework proposed here attempts to help analysts objectively assess the positives and the negatives associated with a given course of action in order to achieve the best possible outcome. All dilemmas have multiple solutions but too often we reach simple conclusions without addressing consequences. Clearly good moral intent can produce serious harm. Sometimes one may have to choose between the two; good moral intent versus good moral consequences


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred W. Kaszniak ◽  
Cynda H. Rushton ◽  
Joan Halifax

The present paper is the product of collaboration between a neuroscientist, an ethicist, and a contemplative exploring issues around leadership, morality, and ethics. It is an exploration on how people in roles of responsibility can better understand how to engage in discernment processes with more awareness and a deeper sense of responsibility for others and themselves. It draws upon recent research and scholarship in neuroscience, contemplative science, and applied ethics to develop a practical understanding of how moral decision-making works and is essential in this time when there can seem to be an increasing moral vacuum in leadership.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Kappes ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel

From moral philosophy to programming driverless cars, scholars have long been interested in how to shape moral decision-making. We examine how framing can impact moral judgments either by shaping which emotional reactions are evoked in a situation (antecedent-focused) or by changing how people respond to their emotional reactions (response-focused). In three experiments, we manipulated the framing of a moral decision-making task before participants judged a series of moral dilemmas. Participants encouraged to go “with their first” response beforehand favored emotion-driven judgments on high-conflict moral dilemmas. In contrast, participants who were instructed to give a “thoughtful” response beforehand or who did not receive instructions on how to approach the dilemmas favored reason-driven judgments. There was no difference in response-focused control during moral judgements. Process-dissociation confirmed that people instructed to go with their first response had stronger emotion-driven intuitions than other conditions. Our results suggest that task framing can alter moral intuitions.


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