a way of thinking about ethics that focuses on following principles or duties to make good choices

something you should do because it’s the right thing, like telling the truth or keeping a promise

an 18th-century philosopher who believed that doing the right thing means following important rules or principles, no matter what

Deontology and Immanuel Kant

Religious education

The nature of human goodness

Teleology and utilitarianism

Situation ethics

Virtue ethics

Suffering and compassion

In this unit pupils will use a philosophical lens to consider what we mean by good. They will examine  various ethical answers given such deontology, utilitarianism and situation ethics. They will conclude by weighing up the issue of suffering in the world.

Ethics: how do we know what is 'good'?

The word ‘deontology’ comes from the Greek word ‘deon’, meaning {{}}.

deciding based on the consequences of actions

making decisions based on rules or duties, regardless of the outcomes

acting in a way that makes everyone happy

Which of the following best describes deontological ethics?

telling the truth because you believe you should be honest

returning a lost item to its owner because it is the right thing to do

Which of these ethical decisions align with Kant's idea of acting out of duty?

it disrupts trust in society and breaks the rule of honesty

Why did Kant argue that lying is always wrong?

Identify the rule you would be following.

Decide if the world would work well if everyone followed this rule.

Sort the actions below into the correct order according to Kant’s decision-making process.

Kant's {{}} imperative means acting in a way that you think everyone should act.

'Philosophy' literally means 'love of {{}}'.

It produces a simple, clear answer for everyone.

It requires deep thinking and does not have an easy or clear answer.

It is about personal preference, not right or wrong.

Why is 'What is the right thing to do?' considered an ultimate question?

the ability to make decisions based on emotions

the ability to think, understand, and form judgements logically

the ability to follow instructions without thinking

Ethics helps us decide what the {{}} thing to do is.

Is it right to lie to protect someone's feelings?

Which of the following is an ethical question?

it focuses only on our actions, not who we are inside

it focuses on the decisions we make and how they show who we are as a person

it teaches us the best ways to achieve personal success

it teaches us how to avoid consequences for bad actions

Why is ethics often about moral character?

Deontology and Immanuel Kant

Lesson outcome