Deontology: Lesson Plan: Topic

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Deontology: What if Everyone Did That? - Moral and Ethical Philosophy Series | 
Academy 4 Social Change 
 

Deontology: Lesson Plan 


 
Topic  

Deontology is a moral theory that considers the rightness or wrongness of an 


action according to universal rules when making a judgment, rather than the 
consequences of that action. 

Possible subjects/classes  Time needed  

● Philosophy 
45 minutes 
● Government/Politics 

Video link:  

https://academy4sc.org/video/deontology-what-if-everyone-did-that/ 

Objective: What will students know/be able to do at the end of class?  

Students will be able to... 


● Explain the two most famous formulations of the Categorical Imperative 
● Articulate how deontology provides justification for human rights 
● Identify a common criticism of deontology 

Key Concepts & Vocabulary  

Hypothetical, Categorical, Imperative, Amoral 

Materials Needed 

Worksheet, Ethics Unwrapped article 

Before you watch  

Ask  students to think if they have any “rules they live by,” such as, “Never cheat on 
a test.” Call on students and put their rules on the board in a list. 

While you watch  

1. Which philosopher created the formulations of the Categorical Imperative? 


2. Which part of us gives us the rules of morality? 
3. When are actions under a deontological approach considered moral? 
 

Deontology: What if Everyone Did That? - Moral and Ethical Philosophy Series | 
Academy 4 Social Change 
 

After you watch/discussion questions  

1. Do you think that moral actions can only be done from duty alone? 
2. Should consequences of an action be considered when determining its 
rightness or wrongness? 
3. Can we know the rightness of an action from reason alone? 

Activity Ideas  

1. Have  students  read  either  the  Myanmar  Amber  or  American  Football  and 
Head  Injuries  case  studies  from  the  Ethics  Unwrapped  article  on 
deontology  (https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/deontology), 
keeping  in  mind  Kant’s  two  formulations  of  the  Categorical  Imperative. 
After  they  finish  reading,  split  them  into  small  groups  to  answer  the 
discussion  questions.  Finally,  come  back  together  as  a  class  and  have  a 
discussion  about  the  case  studies  and  conversations  from  their  small 
groups. 
2. Split  students  into  small  groups  and  give  them  a  common  moral  rule  such 
as  “Don’t  cheat,”  “Don’t  lie,”  “Don’t  steal,”  “Don’t  be  rude,”  etc.  Ask  them  to 
come  up  with  a  scenario  in  which it seems intuitive and even right to break 
this  rule,  and  whether  the  rule  with  its  new  exception  could  meet  the 
standards of universalization that Kant outlines. 

Sources/places to learn more  

1. Crashcourse. “Kant & Categorical Imperatives: Crash Course Philosophy 


#35.” Youtube, 14 Nov 2016, https://youtu.be/8bIys6JoEDw. 
2. Driver, Julia. Ethics: The Fundamentals. Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 
3. Ethics Unwrapped. “Deontology.” University of Texas at Austin, 
https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/deontology. 
4. Johnson, Robert and Adam Cureton, "Kant’s Moral Philosophy", The 
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta 
(ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/. 

   

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