8.3: Deontology
- Page ID
- 299513
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The Ten Commandments
Deontology involves moral reasoning by conceiving of morality as a list of rules, and the rules carry the authority. Using deontology, questions the rules is not encouraged. Of interest, all major world religions have some type of deontological list, and for these faiths the authority for morality comes from the Absolute and is known as divine command. Judaism, for instance, has Torah, a list of 613 laws plus the Ten Commandments that Jews must follow to keep the covenant with God. Christians, however, don't follow Torah yet do observe the Ten Commandments, as well as Jesus of Nazareth's Sermon on the Mount, where in outlines proper behavior for his followers. In the case of Muslims, the Shari'a or Islamic Law, controls religious, moral, and political behavior. Islamic Law is quite comprehensive: it covers what Muslims are allowed to eat, how they should dress, and so forth. In some Islamic countries, this system of law serves also as the civil law of the land. But in countries where Muslims are in the minority, they have to obey both the secular civil law and the Islamic system. Hindus follow The Laws of Manu, which details the caste system that results in duties and rules in daily life. We will look in depth at the caste system in a future chapter.
The Sermon on the Mount
For a faith founded by a sage, it is different since sages, such as Confucius or the Buddha, were not deities. Thus, we cannot call their respective list of rules or principles divine command. Instead of appealing to God's authority, the sage appeals to the individual's virtue. Buddhists follow the Five Precepts: "I undertake the precept to refrain from harming living creatures," "I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not freely given," "I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct," "I undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech," and "I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness." Many readers should recognize parallels of the Buddha's Five Precepts to the Ten Commandments. This does not mean the Buddha was Jewish. Instead, it reflects the importance of natural law as a source for morality.