Qn.

Deontology is rigid, uncaring and not applicable to todays society and the
issues we face in digital media. Using at least one other ethical framework we have
covered, discuss this statement.
Deontology is rigid, uncaring and not applicable to todays society and the issues we face in
digital media. his statement is a sweeping statement that is not applicable to all issues we
face. !e sometimes apply conse"uentialism to issues, but we must understand that
conse"uences are relative, and dependence on it cannot be total basis of human society. !hile
it may be ineffective in modern society if a rigid moral doctrine is applied without any relative
bearings to the issue, we must know the benefits of it before #udgement on the issues and to
view each issues relative to factors surrounding it, both in society and in digital media. his
essay will e$plore certain issues in todays society like capital punishment and online #ournalism
and the respective stances that both ethical frameworks would take.
his essay provides the following definition on Deontology% its religious roots, that there are
specific commandments and laws in religious documents defining what is right and wrong, or
the more modern day approach, paraphrasing &mmanuel 'ants (ategorical &mperative, that we
service the community by behaving properly, that ones action could always hold as a principle
establishing universal law )*ss +,,-.. Utilitarianism is a different take on ethics, to promote the
greatest good for the greatest number )/eauchamp 0 (hildress +,,1. or inflicting the least
harm to the least amount of people. )'anniyakonil +,,2., to take action based on the
conse"uences rather than to duty or obligation of the individual. he are not necessary
opposites, #ust different frameworks% Deontologists would say theft is wrong and is unpleasant
for the victims. Utilitarianism would say the conse"uences of punishment by law, retaliation and
vengeance outweigh the utility gained from theft of material goods.
(apital 3unishment, referred as the death penalty, according to homas 4ong in his article,
argues that it is cruel and unusual, and unconstitutional because the pain and suffering cannot
be #ustified by its effectiveness as a deterrent, and therefore irrational. )5erstein 1-26.
7owever, countries all over the world still perform it, some of them arguing that it is completely
#ustified as a suitable punishment for heinous acts of violence with malicious intent. &t is
interesting to note that until the mid8twentieth century the death penalty is imposed for crimes
beside murder, including rape, kidnapping and treason. )/edau, (assell, 3o#man +,,6.. 9
realistic view would be that as we grow to believe that society becomes more refined and
civili:ed, the death sentence is perceived as barbaric. )'umari +,,2.
;any religion8based Deontologists would argue from the point of the scarcity of life, and modern
Deontologists, the right to live, and that deterrence is not effective and morally flawed.
Deontologists would maintain that the ending of life by man<s hand is unpleasant and wrong, the
(hurch forbids public authorities from inflicting the death penalty as punishment, and traditional
doctrine dictate it be better to not practice capital punishment. )=wens, (arlson, Dulles, *lshtain
+,,6.. hey would also argue of the rights to live as a human being, as cited in the (harter of
>undamental ?ights in the *uropean Union, 9rticle +% which proclaims that everyone has the
right to life and none be condemned to e$ecution. )3erry +,,2. ;oreover, the punishment must
be known to the potential criminals to be a deterrent, else there would be no fear of being
punished and hence no deterrent. )=dhiambo +,,-. &f the public believes if the criminal is
punished but in truth is secretly let free and given a second chance, would it still be a deterrent@
)=dhiambo +,,-. he fact is that the public knowing of the punishment would produce a
deterrent effect, and the act of punishing the guilty is irrelevant.
>rom a Utilitarian stance the death penalty is a powerful deterrent. Deterrence itself found out to
be highly correlated with the population support for the death penalty, in a 1-26 survey
conducted on (alifornia /ay 9rea residents. )/edau 1--A. ?obertson further argues that there
is substantial evidence that is a deterrent% a study by the University of Borth (arolina show that
every murder deters on average 1A murders. 9fter most e$ecutions there is a notable decrease
of homicides. 7owever, skeptics have "uestioned these arguments, that far too many variables
like poverty levels, population, race, culture and urbani:ation to trust these evidences.
)?obertson +,,+. &f every murder is resulted in cosmic retribution in the form of lightning, and
that they all go punished in such manner, the cosmic retribution would serve as a deterrent.
)/edau, (assell +,,6.. Cuch logic is "uestionable% 9s 9mnesty &nternational pointed out, that as
long as human #ustice remains fallible, the risk of e$ecuting the innocent can never be
eliminated, thus the abolition of the death penalty is to prevent innocents from getting e$ecuted.
?etribution from human #ustice is imperfect, and may sometimes e$ecute an innocent.
=nline Dournalism is e$ploding, with the ever growing number of blogs and online publications,
#ournalists both amateurs and professionals can publish about news, and with that their
thoughts and views. Cuch blogs are free or have less of the censorship of editors and the
cynicism which sometimes come from profit8seeking news organi:ation. ;ore people are getting
their news from the internet )http %EE www .economist .com Enode E1FG6+GA-@ story H id I1FG6+GA- .,
the growing distrust the public press, )http %EE www .people 8press .org E+,,-E,-E1FE press 8accuracy 8
rating 8hits 8two 8decade 8low E. two8thirds of surveyed political8interested internet users find online
newspaper and politically8orientated websites as somewhat credible. )(assidy +,,2. hese
online #ournalists are offering first hand accounts, in depth investigation usually ignored by
mainstream media, and viewpoints to the public, and are changing how #ournalism works.
)?ettberg +,,A. he transparency of news between bloggers and online publication further
enhances credibility and trustworthiness. )>ortner, >ackler +,1,. 9lso it is evident, according to
echnorati, that most bloggers are transparent about their motives and processesJ public with
their biases and sub#ective approaches, not constrained to norms of ob#ectivity of any given
sub#ect. )>riend, Cinger +,,2.
Deontologists would argue that moral ethics dictate that a blogger publish the truth and attempt
to minimi:e harmful, seditious opinions. 7owever to constrain personal opinion from a blog
article is parado$ical to the nature and popular purpose of blogging. 9dvantages from a perfect
#ournalistic code of conduct is that news is reported ob#ectively, truthfully, and free of inciting
opinions. 9lso with no editorial or financial obligation, there is a freedom to report or even
correct news with cold hard facts and citations. )/lood +,,+. 7owever, one may feel morally
obligated to report news so truthfully it is distasteful or could harm the community more than
doing good. he general lack of editorial procedures for accommodating new amateur sources
);ortensen +,11., like the death of Beda 9gha Coltan, or the #umpers falling from the !orld
rade (enter on -E11,, cast light on the ethical dilemma of publishing a video or photo of the last
moments of a human being. he argument would be that it is #ournalistic duty to keep the public
informed of the gravity of the situation, but at what cost, utilitarians may argue. !e are unable to
determine the utility, the actual conse"uences of publishing such media to the public and loved
ones. !hile it may inform, it commits moral e$clusion, to not accommodate the rights of people
related or involved. )4arson +,1,.
(onse"uentialists would argue that blogs are personal, filled with opinions and e$pressionJ like
how one may support a political candidate, party, or cause. heir opinions and feedback is
invaluable to the intellectual growth of society, though some may unconsciously publish
propaganda, already indoctrinated by belief, to sway public opinions on topics like foreign talent
in Cingapore, or the death penalty, and deducting hypothetical benefits to a nation. &n relation
again to the ethics of publishing content like Coltans death, the !estern medias eager use of
such videos for both pure, visceral information and headline8grabbing potentialJ turning her into
a democratic hero )Drushel, 5erman +,11. than focusing on the tragedy of death, that though
this happened during demonstrations in &ran, it is actually unrelated )Ctelder +,11. and that she
is found to be apolitical and not involved in the demonstration, #ust an innocent bystander killed.
7owever this doesnt stop blogs and publications to mourn and turn her into a symbol of &ranian
freedom, when she wasnt involved in the first place.
Bo two sides would be absolutely correct, neither deontology or utilitarianism provides a perfect
framework. Deontology is bounded by old laws and rules that sometimes cannot be applied to
modern day issues. Beither is utilitarianism, which is actually colder and can be more uncaring
than deontology. &n regards of the Death 3enalty, we cannot ignore the figures that there are
less murders from the effect of deterrence. (orrelating to the harsh penalty Cingapore imposes
on drug trafficking, that is well connected in the region and with bank secrecy laws make it
attractive for drug traffickers to launder money )&bp UC9 +,,2., there is much less drug
trafficking going in and out of our borders from the powerful deterrent Cingapore law imposes.
he absence of evidence and few cases of drugs abuse in Cingapore is evidence in itself.
7owever, we cannot devalue the power of e$pression in blogs. !hile there is a need to follow a
code of conduct, amateur reporting result in erroneous news and strong opinions. he blatant
lack of impartiality is a benefit that would draw users into a discussion, and with the power to
moderate whose opinions is better founded or more important, )>ortner, >ackler +,1,. /logs
greatest strength in its uncensored, unmediated, uncontrolled voice, is also its greatest
weakness. )/lood +,,+. here is a risk that people can use blogs as online soapbo$es as a
way and means of swaying public opinion, evoking strong emotions upon the reader and turn
discussions into internet arguments. =nline #ournalists should uphold truth and credibility first,
opinions second, rather than on sensationalism and emotional language, even if its against the
ethos of blogging, adhering to a code of blogging ethics. )>ortner, >ackler +,1,. *lse all news
online should be taken with a pinch of salt if there is no truth or credible information.
Deontology is still a necessary framework and basis of our society and culture, which then
Utilitarianism can build itself upon it. (ode of laws is based in deontology, and should be
regarded as a beneficial source of wisdom in certain issues, but we need to also understand
conse"uentialism have its benefits that may be better than solutions provided by deontology.
Deontology resists change especially on new viewpoints, but once in a while, Utilitarianism
would provide a better solution to social problems like crime and e$pression, but this is still
sub#ective and have to be analysed carefully to account any form of conse"uence.
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4. E!cellent essay C well written and clear. E!cellent use of resources and citations. My
only reser&ation is that you spent too much time *=33 words+ discussing deontology and
utilitarianism in a more theoretical conte!t9 and should probably ha&e brought in digital
media D media "ust a little bit earlier. %owe&er9 that does not detract from what is a &ery
good piece of wor,. ;ell done.