Decisions in Criminal Justice Deontological Ethics - Essay Example

Deontological Ethics Name: Institution: Deontological Ethics At the core of this analytical piece is the exploration of the principles of right or wrong, which are the bases of the way people lead their lives together. The deontological ethics is a school of thought that underlines one of the major elements forming the discourse of ethical system (Pojman & Fieser, 2011). Worthy noting is that ethical systems are shaped by moral beliefs, the inherent premises based on which judgments are made, and they are beyond arguments. In exploring and detailing the deontological ethical philosophy, this analysis supports the fact that decisions or judgments are founded on basic truths that are taken as given by the party using the ethical approach. Deontological ethics concerns itself fundamentally with the characteristic nature of the act that is the subject of the judgment. This primarily implies that if an act or intent is characteristically good and emanating from free and goodwill, it is then considered moral regardless of yielding good or bad outcomes. Deontological ethical system is underlain by the doctrine of ethical formalism in which the moral inherent in an act or intent is not defined by the consequences but only by the motive of the actor. The deontological ethics in this context stems primarily from the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) (Kant & Ellington, 1994), which alludes that good will is the only thing that is intrinsically good. This is to imply that an actor’s act discharged out of good will can be considered a moral act even if it precipitates bad consequences. Additionally, this deontological approach concedes that an actor’s action that exteriorly appears altruistic, but performed with some ulterior motive, that act cannot be considered moral. The deontological canon is enshrined on the belief that moral worth is underpinned by doing one’s duty (Pollock, 2011). The Kantian ethical system argues for universality in any human’s course of action, and that people should not benefit by using others. Summarily, deontological ethics is founded on absolutist tenets in that if an act is wrong, it remains so all the time. This implies that if in deontological standpoint the act or intent of lying is wrong, then telling lies is always wrong and thus immoral in all cases irrespective of the nature of the resulting consequences. Application of the Case Scenario: The Large Man that Thwarts Criminality It is imperative that criminality is considered by the society immoral (Scruton, 1997) and the underlying consequences are always injurious to the people. In this context the case involves a rise of the levels of petty crimes and surging number of shootings within the neighborhood. The fact that people generally despise petty crime and the concomitant shootings renders the acts wrong, and thus immoral when considered under deontological ethics. However, a context of ethical dilemma presents through a large masked man, who in this case surfaces in crime scenes and is seen defending the bystanders that fall victims of robberies and even stopping criminal activities. The savior man appears and disappears suddenly, and police, the universal law enforcers that should be obeyed by the society have warned the public against approaching or concealing him. However, it would appear right for the people to hide the man from police because he claims to be a member of a group that purports to fight criminality and establish safe society in which children would be secure. This allegation is corroborated by the efficiency of the man in thwarting crimes and criminals fear him. According to deontological absolutist tenets however, lying is wrong and thus immoral. Therefore, seeing the man disappearing to a house, despite his good intentions should prompt a call to inform the police about his whereabouts. This rationale is harbored in the deontological ethical framework that requires judgment be made based on the act and not the end. Evaluation of Deontological Ethical System In this context, the deontological ethical tenets appear useful in that the universal role of protecting citizens is bestowed upon the police and not an anonymous group or an individual that purports unconventional responsibility. This implies that the theory is useful in ensuring police get truthful and factual information to perform their duty, and this way it emphasizes morality within the society. Worthy noting about the strengths of the deontological ethical concept is that is the cornerstone of equality of human treatment in the society. This system is grounded on duty-based ethical tenets, which in essence argue for equal value for all human beings. Napier (2011) observes that deontological theory underpins the basis for human rights because it emphasizes observation of due regard to the values and interest of each member of the society even when the person in consideration presents minority’s views. It is imperative that in line with deontological canons, some acts or intents are universally wrong or right. It is thus apparent that the system is useful in profiling societal social order by emphasizing duty-based ethics. This implies that the theory promotes the universal tendency of humans avoiding what is considered wrong regardless of the underlying consequences. This ethical stance is apparently in synchrony with how many people think when making duty oriented decisions. Unlike consequentialist ethical systems that harbor some uncertainty in the process of ethical decision making, deontological system provides a tangible degree of certainty in decision making because it is based on individual’s onus (Napier, 2011). The pillar of this strength is the focus on the action itself in that if an act is deemed right, and it would be deduced right under the universal law, then a person should certainly do it. Moreover, if act is considered wrong, the actor should not execute it. This aspect demonstrates that the system provides people with morally substantiated choices for making certain ethical decisions. However, the philosophy’s absolute judgment (Hall, 2005) becomes self limiting in instances when exceptions may be viable to any moral rule such as, a lie should always not be told. For instance, in this context people in the neighborhood are comfortable and convinced that the man in question is playing a righteous role in enhancing their safety and the general security of the society. This implies that concealing him and letting him be may be more helpful for them than when he is handed in to the police that have been around even with the rise in criminality and insecurity. Deontological ethical framework therefore sometime confronts people with conflicting duties to moral decisions, which imply that it may not be useful in helping people in establishing contextual decision making process. The duty-based ethical system as aforementioned is an absolutist approach, which sets and obeys absolute rules. This implies that the only means of dealing with contexts that are not consistent with the rules is establishing a list of exceptions to the rule. Additionally, the inherent disinterest in the results implies that some courses of action may reduce the happiness of the human society, therefore making the world a less good place to live in. This premise is consistent with arguments that the concept makes it increasingly difficult for an individual to harmonize conflicting responsibilities thus curtailing an actor’s potential of delivering optimal good to the society. Personal Stance Deontological ethical system ingrains into an individual the principles of making informed choice in personal decision making. I consider the philosophy useful in my future personal and career decision making processes because it argues for substantive ground in the way of judging individual actions. For instance it emphasizes adherence to norms and practices that are universally declared right or wrong, which maintains conventional integrity. References Hall, James. (2005). Practically profound: Putting philosophy to work in everyday life. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield. Kant, I.,& Ellington, J.W. (1994). Ethical Philosophy: The complete texts of grounding the metaphysics of morals, and metaphysical principles of virtue. (2nd ed.). London: Hackett Publishing. Pojman, L.P., & Fieser, J. (2011). Ethics: Discovering right and wrong. (7th ed.). New York, NY: Cenagge Learning. Pollock, J.M. (2011). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice. (7th ed.). New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Scruton, Roger. (1997). Modern philosophy: An introduction and survey. London: Arrow. Read More