Duty Ethics and Rights Ethics
Two other ethical theories—duty ethics and rights ethics—are similar to each other and will be considered together. These theories hold that those actions are good that respect the rights of the individual. Here, good consequences for society as a whole are not the only moral consideration.
A major proponent of duty ethics was Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), who held that moral duties are fundamental. Ethical actions are those actions that could be written down on a list of duties: be honest, don’t cause suffering to other people, be fair to others, etc. These actions are our duties because they express respect for persons, express an unqualifi ed regard for autonomous moral agents, and are uni- versal principles [ Schinzinger and Martin, 2000 ]. Once one’s duties are recognized, the ethically correct moral actions are obvious. In this formulation, ethical acts are a result of proper performance of one’s duties.
Rights ethics was largely formulated by John Locke (1632–1704), whose state- ment that humans have the right to life, liberty, and property was paraphrased in the Declaration of Independence of the soon-to-be United States of America in 1776. Rights ethics holds that people have fundamental rights that other people have a duty to respect.
Place Your Order Here!
