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Moral Moments

Showdown

by Joel Marks

I have written many times about the superiority of a particular type of ethics to its main alternative. It is time to face the issue head on. I ally myself with the kind of ethical theory associated with Immanuel Kant. Sometimes called ‘deontology,’ from the Greek word for duty, deon, its hallmark is that the outcomes of our actions matter less (if at all!) than the motives of our actions. Its connection with duty is that the right sort of motive or ‘will’ is to be responsive to moral obligation or duty; we should do the right thing precisely because it is the right thing to do.

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