Deontological
ethics is a philosophy of ethics that is mainly associated with a focus on the
nature of an action. It is a term best describe hand in hand with
consequentialism whereby the in the latter the outcomes of the action are
focused more than the action itself. When analyzing the nature of actions in
deontological ethics, the moral background of it is explored in terms of
whether it is right or wrong. An
important aspect of deontology is obligations as well as duties. Duties are
usually bound by rules and thus makes deontological ethics have some form of
accountability in the actions people are involved in. It is, therefore,
necessary to acknowledge, that in deontological ethics, the situation is either
good or it is bad based on the nature of the action that leads to it (Byrne,
1999).
Moral
norm is very important to deontological ethics because it provides a point of
reference from where choices and actions can incline either towards or against.
Actions are considered right if their inclination is mainly towards the moral
norm and it is considered wrong if its inclination is away from the norm. There
is also another important term that deontological ethics is associated with. It
is moral absolutism, and it refers to some of the actions that morally are
always wrong whether the consequences are positive or negative. Deontological
ethics is sometimes consistent with moral absolutism, but this is always a
necessary aspect. Deontological ethics
is a philosophical aspect that can greatly help in understanding some of the
ethical aspects of society. It is an important standpoint that may help in the
justification of some human actions (Byrne, 1999).
Famine
is slowly looming as a factor of climate change and some countries are already
seeing the adverse effects. The demands for aid in terms of food supplies is
increasing at a high rate, and the supply is insufficient. Food requirement is
very high, and the situation threatens to take with it many lives. Other
negative factors of political instability and violence are adding to the
situation and worsening. Famine has been caused by a wide variety of factors
that include poor government policies, unbalanced population, and crop failure.
However, changes in climatic patterns has become one of the most prominent
factors that are worsening the conditions and increasing hunger at a very high
rate. Climate change is expected to reduce crop yields in many countries of the
world this will have an effect of increasing malnutrition. Some of the main
aspects of climate change that influence agriculture include increased
temperatures and changes in the patterns of precipitation (Lim, 2017).
For
a long time, there has existed a relationship between climate change and
anthropogenic activities. The relationship between the two aspects has mainly
been attributed to the increase in greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that
has caused changes in the earth’s albedo. Most of these greenhouse gases arise
from the burning of fossil fuels for the need of energy generation. Fossil
fuels have been the driving force of industrialization for many years.
Industrialization has been a key aspect of development for many countries. The
fight for economic development in the world of industrialization has led to
high rates of utilization of fossil fuels, and all have been done at the cost
of the environment, through pollution and high emission of greenhouse gases
(Chakrabarty & Bass, 2013).
There
exists a great dilemma between development and environment whereby industrial
development has become a great aspect of growth but has been made at the cost
of the environment. The needs for energy
exploitation and utilizations are higher than ever before. Energy is power for
industrialization. The nation with access to the highest amount of energy gives
it power over the rest. Fossil fuels are one of the majorly used sources of
energy because they cost less when it comes to exploitation and utilization as
compared to other sources of energy however they release a great amount of
pollution and greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. On the other hand, there is
the need for environmental protection. This is associated with the need to
develop sustainable ways of energy exploration and production. Then
consequences of climate change are already in existence through the increase in
famine in countries around the world. They reflect the actions of human
activities associated with the need for economic development and
industrialization. In the above explanation, deontological ethics can be
explained by the human actions of greed and short-sightedness that have made it
hard for the development of new and clean energy. The increased rates of
climate change, in this case, is associated with the lack of consideration to
duty and obligations on the side of the nations that have been associated with
the use of fossil fuels for energy production. The actions of the whole world
which have conformed to the culture of industrialization with the lack of
consideration to environmental impacts have become the reasons for high rates
of climate change whose effects can now be seen through increased famine is
some countries (Mcdonald, 2001).
From
the above description, it is clear of how anthropogenic activities have led to
developments of negative environmental externalities associated with
industrialization and greed for economic power. The actions of humans, in this
case, can be assessed by their lack of accountability regarding meeting the
direct costs of environmental degradation. People who are not directly linked
to degradation are paying the consequence because of negative externalities of
industrialization. In relation to deontological ethics, it is the duty and
obligation of all humans to understand the negative implications that come with
environmental degradation. People must open their eyes now and see what is
happening. The world has been blinded by the benefits of industrialization is
failing to see the other side of the coin which is the negative implications that
it comes. With. A good example is the China’s rise to economic power which has
left the air of its major cities unbreathable. The effects have become too much
that the earth might not have the capacity to recover (Hale, 2011). It is,
therefore, true to say that the need for industrialization through the use of
fossil fuels as the main sources of energy have created a bad state in the
world of today because it is developing mentalities that are leading to adverse
environmental impacts. The actions of people in this sense are based on their
inability to take accountability and accept the facts that have been presented
whereby fossil fuels are poisoning the world and are causing increased rates of
climate change which is what is increasing famine in some countries of the
world. The theory of deontological ethics is, therefore, successful in
explaining the case study by analyzing the actions of human beings in the world
towards the increase in famine in the world (Hale, 2011).
References
Byrne, P.
(1999). Deontological Moral Theory. The Philosophical and Theological
Foundations of Ethics, 86-107. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-27476-5_5
Chakrabarty, S.,
& Bass, A. E. (2013). Comparing Virtue, Consequentialist, and Deontological
Ethics-Based Corporate Social Responsibility: Mitigating Microfinance Risk in
Institutional Voids. Journal of Business Ethics, 126(3), 487-512.
doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1963-0
Hale, B. (2011).
Moral Considerability: Deontological, not Metaphysical. Ethics and the
Environment, 16(2), 37-62. doi:10.2979/ethicsenviro.16.2.37
Lazar, S.
(2017). Deontological Decision Theory and Agent-Centered Options. Ethics,
127(3), 579-609. doi:10.1086/690069
Lim, M. (2017).
Kants deontological Ethics and Korsgaards neo-Kantian Constructivism. Korean
Journal of Legal Philosophy, 20(1), 101-136.
doi:10.22286/kjlp.2017.20.1.004
Mcdonald, H.
(2001). Toward a Deontological Environmental Ethics. Environmental Ethics,
23(4), 411-430. doi:10.5840/enviroethics20012346
Schwickert, E.,
& Miller, S. C. (2005). Gender, Morality, and Ethics of Responsibility:
Complementing Teleological and Deontological Ethics. Hypatia, 20(2),
164-187. doi:10.1353/hyp.2005.0089
Tännsjö, T.
(2002). Understanding ethics: an introduction to moral theory.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
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