H. P. Grice's Obligatum

OBLIGATUM -- DEONTICS -- deontic concept, another term for deontic modality deontic judgment, another name for judgment of obligation deontic logic Logic, ethics A kind of formal logic, also called the logic of obligation, which concerns the logical relations between propositions containing deontic modalities or concepts such as obliged, permitted, or forbidden. It was motivated by the development of modal logic in the twentieth century, and the observation by logicians that the words obligatory and permissible parallel the roles of necessary and possible in arguments. Deontic logic can be traced to the medieval logicians, and to Leibniz, Bentham, and Ernst Mally, but in contemporary logic it started with G. H. von Wright’s seminal paper “Deontic Logic” (Mind 60, 1951). The most systematic treatment of this logic so far is in the works of von Wright. In a sense, deontic logic is the application of formal logic to ethical notions and tends to codify the rules of practical reasoning. Although the discovery of paradoxes in formal deontic systems has led to proposals for their radical reformulation, many logicians still endorse this part of logic, anticipating the contribution of deontic logic to the development of both ethical and logical theory. “There are several families of concepts, the members of which exhibit in their mutual relations the same formal pattern as the modalities. An example are the deontic or normative notions: obligation, permission, and others. The formal theory of these has become known as deontic logic.” von Wright, Philosophical Logic -- deontic modality Logic, ethics [from Greek deontos, fitting, proper or as it should be] Deontic modalities, also called deontic concepts, are the concepts implying obligation (ought to), permission (may), and forbidding (ought not to). Sentences in which these concepts occur are called deontic sentences. This term was introduced by G. H. von Wright, and he contrasts them with normative concepts such as “right” or “wrong,” and axiological concepts such as “good” or “bad.” The logic that is concerned with the logical relations between propositions containing deontic modalities is deontic logic or the logic of obligation. “The deontic modalities are about the mode or way in which we are permitted or not to perform an act.” von Wright, An Essay in Modal Logic -- deontology Ethics [from Greek to deon, what is proper, what ought to be, or duty] An ethics based on acting according to duty. It concentrates on moral motives and takes obligation or duty as its central notion. Deontology holds that there are certain things that are right or wrong intrinsically. We should do them or not do them simply because of the sorts of things they are, regardless of the consequences of doing them. Hence, deontology is contrasted to teleological or consequentialist ethics (represented by utilitarianism), which claims that the rightness of an action depends on whether it brings about good consequences. To lie is wrong simply because it is a lie, no matter how much happiness it can produce. There is a set of moral principles and rules that a moral agent must observe absolutely. Deontology maintains that consequentialism is wrong because the goodness of the consequences of an action does not guarantee the rightness of an action. But it is difficult for deontology to explain why certain sorts of things are wrong in themselves. Generally deontology attempts to answer this question by appeal to common sense moral intuition or to human rationality, but a satisfactory account of what makes an act wrong is still required. Kant is the most important deontological theorist. Other major deontologists include Samuel Clarke, W. D. Ross, Prichard, Butler, and, in contemporary philosophy, Alan Donagan, C. Fried, and Thomas Nagel. Some theorists have tried to distinguish rule-deontology and act-deontology. The former determines what is right in accordance with a set of universally applied moral rules, while the latter maintains that given changing circumstances we should act in accord with particular moral judgments regarding particular situations. This distinction is not presently in fashion. Deontology and utilitarianism have been the two major trends in modern Western ethics. The term was introduced by Bentham, in a manuscript entitled “Deontology,” to refer to the ethics which has “for its object the learning and showing for the information of each individual, by what means the net amount of his happiness may be made as large as possible.” Bentham’s deontology is equivalent to utilitarianism, but this usage is largely ignored. “Deontological ethics . . . is any system which does not appeal to the consequences of our actions, but which appeals to conformity with certain rules of duty.” Smart and Williams, Utilitarianism: For and Against.