Extreme deontologists are so prejudiced against this idea that many of them refuse to watch the show purely out of moral posturing. Dexter is a captivating TV series about a serial killer (Dexter Morgan) who only kills serial killers who have already slipped through the criminal justice system via some lame technicality and who Dexter finds to be guilty beyond any doubt via hard physical evidence (whether the evidence is obtained legally or illegally). More on that later. And/or what about changing protocols so that when a crime is predicted, law enforcement waits until the crime is actually committed before arresting the perpetrator? It does not look at the habits or character of an individual making the choice or whether the consequences of an action would be considered right or wrong. It offers motivation. It just doesn’t work in a world turned upside down. I don’t think this would happen in real life, so it would be magnitudes more difficult for one to apply Dexter’s code than is shown in the show. In today’s society, this question is hardly a hypothetical. But proving Dexter is making the incorrect choice by killing those who would kill hundreds more? Wrong. Your email address will not be published. This conclusion is contrary to Kant’s categorical imperative. Deontological ethics, in philosophy, ethical theories that place special emphasis on the relationship between duty and the morality of human actions. Jack Bauer always does what it takes to achieve the best possible result for the greatest number of people. Whether we romanticize deontology or misrepresent utilitarianism, the end result is the same. While some might jump all the way out of their sofas, I would only jump half-way. We ought to let the entire world perish as long as we did the right thing, because if we can’t behave up to some certain standard that deontologists arbitrarily define, the human race isn’t worth saving, yadda yadda yadda. His new actions reflect a Kantian categorical imperative, one in which a person acts without self interest to make the lives of those around him better. Kant, a central figure in the world of philosophy and ethics, “argued that morality must ultimately be grounded in the concept of duty, or obligations that humans have to one another, and … Deontologists believe that the goal of moral philosophy should be to figure out the “rules” for living a moral life and that once people know those rules they should follow them. In short, the deontological vs. teleological dispute in movies really only has a true “bite” if there is a difference in the outcomes: if the writers write deontology as leading to the best consequences, the difference amounts to nothing. The main difference between deontology and consequentialism is that deontology focuses on the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves.Whereas, consequentialism focuses on the consequences of the action.. Deontology and consequentialism are two contrasting, normative ethical theories that determine the morality of an action. […] Utilitarianism and Deontology Part 2: Hollywood & Dexter » […], Your email address will not be published. The magnitude of good this represents far exceeds what laws the Gangster Squad broke to achieve it. One may come away from this film thinking, “okay, so being non-virtuous really does pay off”. A common example of the artificial sabotaging consequences of utilitarian choices would be the storyline that involves a very powerful tool that the government discovers or develops but ends up being abused by someone high up who is corrupt, such as in Enemy of the State. Guide to philosophy relevant films. We now turn to Kantian ethics applied to the corporate world (something that perhaps is not done enough). My Paizo Page. When his own selfish desires conflict with what he knows to be the correct utilitarian choice, he finds some other utilitarian way to fix his mistake. A Clockwork Orange (1971, Stanley Kubrick) Privacy Policy (http://www.tasteofcinema.com/privacy-notice-and-cookies/) Theme by, Taste of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists, The 10 Best Movies That Deal With Kantian Ethics, Taste of Cinema – Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists. I want to see him win because he does whatever it takes to achieve the best possible outcome. The Dark Knight presents two deontological "heroes" at the beginning of the movie: the Dark Knight and the White Knight, Batman and Harvey Dent. Sister Prejean perfectly exemplifies Kant’s notions of duty and intent. The fact that it’s set in the in Sheffield in the 1980s is scary enough for starters, and it gets worse as it imagines what a real life nuclear holocaust would actually be like. Deontology is a specific approach to ethics. After “Interiors”, his 1978 follow-up to “Annie Hall”, he began to delve deeper into darker subject matters. Both believe very strongly in the rule of law. 11 1 1 bronze badge. ... Movie Watcher. ‘Cause then, you see, your story assumes tragic proportions because, in the absence of a God, he is forced to assume that responsibility himself. In the movie “The Dark Knight”, Batman, played by Christian Bale, has to choose between either saving his love Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) or the crime-fighting District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). And as for enslaving the precogs, what about just asking the precogs to voluntarily come in and predict murders at random times during the week? Movies are only good if the underdog wins, and deontologists make the best underdogs since it’s so easy to make empathy for billions seem so evil and to make empathy for just one person seem so admirable. In religious deontology, the principles derive from divine commandment so that under religious laws, we are morally obligated not to steal, lie, or cheat. Kant himself had a view on capital punishment. In the movie Gangster Squad, a secret group of police officers break the law in order to bring down Mickey Cohen, who was very close to establishing a mob in Los Angeles and “owning” the entire west coast. He felt that it violated a person’s rights because they were simply being used as a means to promote deterrence, and therefore not being treated as a full person. Some TV shows and movies give utilitarianism a bad name by artificially sabotaging consequences when characters follow utilitarianism ideology and/or by romanticizing deontology by making the most unlikely victories happen in spite of (or perhaps even only because of) the hero holding true to his or her deontological principles, such as the refusal to ever kill anyone in Batman Begins and Batman: The Dark Knight. Well, sort of. But somehow, against odds that are beyond impossible, the protagonist manages to have it both ways, saving the world while still managing to hold onto principles. Judah ends up getting away with this but not without internal suffering. Don’t steal. Through his new perspective, he is able to escape the recurring cycle. In the film, Judah (Martin Landau), a successful eye doctor, is at risk of having his family and business torn apart by his mistress (Anjelica Huston). I don’t believe I am the only person out there who is tired of seeing the protagonist win because he is really good at positive thinking. Deontological theories necessarily generate "categorical imperatives" (that is, duties independent of any theory of good). Of course, this isn’t really true since they don’t do things to people at whim every time they’re upset, such as pouring acid on them or taking power drills to peoples’ faces. At its core lie a number of fundamental ethical principles, which represent basic ethical values in which more specific ethical requirements can be grounded (Table 1). In Hollywood, there is no need to make intelligent decisions as long as scriptwriters are there to save the day1. In general, the goal of deontology is to create a rational set o… This doesn’t matter, because even the utilitarian’s heart is warmed by Guy’s uncompromising sense of morality. Here, the emphasis on acts rather than (as in utilitarianism) on Max Borg in FanFare. Connors’ initial response to his newfound circumstance is one of hedonism. Any movie that begins with this hard-core deontological quote fading in and out of the center of a black screen is guaranteed to be a great movie (be sure to read Utilitarianism and Deontology Part 1 to familiarize yourself with utilitarianism and deontology). The term deontology is derived from the Greek deon, “duty,” and logos, “science.”. I would love to find out why such people can stomach watching the downright evil serial killer who tortures and kills for pleasure, but can’t stomach watching the one who is trying to save innocent people from being murdered. Kant’s notion of duty here is put to the test; Batman has a responsibility to defeat the Joker, but the question is how far should that duty extend. At least in this case, nobody can complain, “I wasn’t really going to go through with it – I was only considering it!” Crime rates would still be extremely low since people would know they will be caught every time. Here are some other interesting examples of artificial sabotaging of utilitarian choices and/or romanticizing deontology by making unlikely victories happen. Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to discern the moral course of action. Deontology and ethical relativism. He makes Wayne choose between himself as a man and what he stands for as Batman. In the comics, movies, and the real world, neither liberty nor security can exist without the other. In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek: δέον, 'obligation, duty' + λόγος, 'study') is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action. However, during the final scene as Judah and Allen’s character sit discussing Judah’s crime (in the form of a movie idea), Allen’s character subverts Judah’s idea of rationalization. Be sure to read the final part in this series, Utilitarianism and Deontology Part 3: The Wrongness-to-Goodness Ratio. Dr. Manhattan agrees that Adrian’s plan did achieve peace, even if the peace is based on a lie. While those who practice Kant’s deontology are bound by duty, the followers of utilitarianism are driven by the pursuit of happiness for all. She attempts to provide solace to both Poncelet and the victim’s family. Is it not a failure of our justice system when a serial rapist gets out after serving only a couple years in jail and rapes another 20 victims before getting caught again? The only way to save the billions of the world was to sacrifice a few million people with a bomb thought to be set off by the worst enemy the world could possibly imagine – an enemy powerful enough to squash an entire world with a single thought. I think of Dexter as more of a thought experiment. Judah’s response after pondering the situation is to have her killed, and pin the murder on a lifelong criminal, who he has never met. He forces Batman to question his own message and symbol through his kidnapping of both Dawes and Dent. It’s also worth noting the cop-out taken at the end of the movie: since a true deontologist is incapable of killing bad guys (but we’re supposed to want Dr. Myrick to die at the end), Guy is attacked by one of Dr. Myrick’s bodyguards. While the Superman movies may appear at first to be pro-deontology, I would strongly argue they work more in favor of the utilitarian argument, because it shows us that only Superman, with his nearly limitless abilities, is able to afford the luxury of applying such strict deontological philosophy into his real-world fights with crime and still be believable. Batman uses enhanced, obtrusive monitoring software. I wonder how many of these Dexter-rejecting deontologists have watched Silence of the Lambs, Se7en, any of the Saw movies, or any of the Jason or Freddy movies? Good luck, because doing a wrong thing and doing an incorrect thing are two completely different concepts. In movies that favor the deontologist (especially movies for children), there is no need for deontologists to get their hands dirty – Satan is always there to murder the bad guy for them. As F.A. Deontology is often associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant. 5. “Groundhog Day” presents the two ends of Kantian ethics. It is easier for me to believe that an alien from outer space could deflect bullets with his eyeball than to believe that any person born on Earth could ever do what Batman does, even with unknown technology and billions of dollars to fund it. However, when you are told to write a deontology essay, things get rather complex because you need some structure and a way to start. Dr. Manhattan leaves Earth so that the sacrifice of millions will not be in vain, and only Rorschach refuses to go along with the lie (“Never compromise, even in the face of Armageddon”) and is killed by Dr. Manhattan before he can tell anyone his story. In reality, people who hold obstinately strong to their principles (deontologists) usually die, and the people who do what needs to be done in order to beat the bad guys (utilitarians) end up beating the bad guys. Superman is also quite the deontologist, although anyone who can deflect a bullet with an eyeball is a true exception to the rule that deontological principles lose when applied in the real world. He refuses to kill anyone, even those who plot to kill billions of innocent people. We already expect the main character will be put in a situation where he or she refuses to compromise on principles even when doing so appears to be the only way to save the world. Connors comes to a decision that aligns with Kantian ethics. This doesn’t change the argument.). Sometimes, doing the wrong thing is the correct thing to do. The cliché usually says no, but reality is another story since it would have been unacceptable for the Mickey Cohen mob to be in complete control of the west coast for all the remaining years of his life. Batman has equal reverence toward human life, but I find Batman to be far less realistic than Superman. Here, action drives the moral decision. The story is known by most moviegoers. Deontology is one such moral theory concerning ethics. Wigand’s actions led to numerous lawsuits being filed, and his actions bring up a number of important questions relating to Kantian ethics. 1. They do know. But for my money, Marvel Studios has been downright daring in raising difficult, and very adult, moral dilemmas. Kant does not consider the consequences as important as the intent behind the action. This approach focuses on whether an action is right or wrong. I would have him turn himself in. V.I.K.I. His actions and intentions are simply aimed at causing chaos throughout the city. Hayek taught, moral codes have been built through the millennia via individual and group selection. One of them being Kant’s notion of a morally good action. There simply isn’t the abundant supply of extremely sick serial killers who’ve slipped through the system all conveniently located in Miami (or in any local area) as is the case in Dexter’s Miami. The main difference that deontologists focus on (or should focus on if they want their argument to sound more important than it really is) is the idea of social contract, which is what gives local, state and national laws (and the ruling government) authority that everyone is expected to respect. When considering the philosophy of Kant, one must think about a number of his principles. The Joker’s intention is to question ethics on a whole and bring about a sense of nihilism. He makes Wayne choose between himself as a man and what he stands for as Batman. Wigand acted correctly according to Kant’s categorical imperative. I don’t have the means – I have not mastered martial arts, I have not studied the human body, I don’t own a boat for easy body disposal, I haven’t been trained by the police force’s best of the best, etc. These solutions all go flying out the window in favor of the heart-warming thinking of deontologists, who hold the freedom of three people whose faces we can see over the lives of thousands of dead people whose faces we cannot see. Deontological (or "duty-based") Ethics 1. Here, we have another film dealing with the death penalty, but from a very different point of view. This is one reason I enjoyed all eight seasons (and eagerly anticipate the 9th season) of 24. The theory of deontology states we are morally obligated to act in accordance with a certain set of principles and rules regardless of outcome. We already expect the main character will be put in a situation where … The Joker represents the antithesis to Kantian ethics. The chief characteristic of deontological theories is: (moral) right (one's duty, how one should act) is defined independently of (moral) good.

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