Deontological Perspective

Before my time at Johnson had started I personally viewed the deontological perspective of ethics as the most important one of the three that were discussed in class. After our discussions in class, and the interdisciplinary presentations that were given this semester, I would still believe deontological perspective to be the most important. My reasons for this assumption is that decisions have consequences or rewards, morals stem from experiences, and morals are the bases of human existence. This paper will aim to dissect the three above reasons in order to explain why the deontological perspective is the most important of the three. My first point stems from the presentation given from Dr. Carl Bridges, concerning the New Testament as it
However, I believe that much like the Jewish sects of ancient times, we as humans follow rules more strictly then we often think we do. Many of the rules that are basic to the human nature stem from morals that were passed down to us from generation to generation. Rules, such as committing murder, theft, and adultery are all fairly frowned upon in the world today. However, going back in history to the Nordic ages, and with different environments that bred different morals, all three of those horrendous acts may have been acceptable. As humans we are apt to draw our “rules” from a certain bias or environment to which we are accustomed too. However, the underlying rules that are passed down to us morally such as those above are much like the Jewish laws that were followed ever so strictly in both the Old
Ron Wheeler’s presentation on how literature pertains to ethics, I realized that literature gives the readers experiences. These experiences can range from fictional to real-life events in which literature provides an experience of. Literature, much like life gives readers a plot, a variety of characters, and conflict that will unfold within the story. Literature not only has the power to give its readers new experiences, but it also begins to shape the rules to which we as humans abide by. If you look at literature from a theological perspective, the entire framework on how Christ followers live their life is based off the liturgy that is found within the scriptures. As believers we read the countless examples and experiences of those before us in the Bible, and through those experiences we can draw rules, biases, and morals that will best help us make ethical choices. Later in his presentation, Dr. Wheeler discusses how the Bible acts as a meta-narrative. The meta-narrative acts as and I quote “the big picture” to which brings all the smaller stories and narratives together in one big theme. If readers look at scripture in light of being a meta-narrative then we all can have the same general guidelines when it comes to making rules that will shape and form our ethical decisions. Literature helps shape the rules that we build our choices and ethics on, and is the second reason why I believe that the deontological perspective is the most