Final answer:
Deontological ethics, as originally proposed by Immanuel Kant, emphasizes duty as the highest moral value. Sir William David Ross later expanded on deontology, acknowledging the importance of consequences and proposing the consideration of competing prima facie duties to resolve moral issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
When “duty” is determined to be the highest moral value, it is indicative of following a deontological approach. Immanuel Kant, a significant figure in modern philosophy, was the first to advance this approach, which prioritizes rules and duties to determine moral rightness.
His conception of morality revolves around categorical imperatives, which are rules that any rational being should accept as norms of rational conduct. Two important formulations of the categorical imperative include the universal law formulation and the humanity formulation, distinguishing them from the hypothetical imperatives that are goal-oriented.
Sir William David Ross criticized classical utilitarianism and deontology for oversimplifying moral life. He identified prima facie duties, which are not absolute but nonetheless represent important moral commitments. Ross's theory requires weighing these duties to determine the most pressing in a given situation, often using a quasi-consequentialist approach.
Ross's pluralist view acknowledges that we may often face competing duties and our actual duty is determined by the action that results in 'the greatest balance of prima facie rightness over... prima facie wrongness.'
Deontology argues for moral actions based on duty, contrary to utilitarianism, which seeks the greatest happiness, and virtue ethics, which focuses on character development. Later deontologists like Ross recognized the relevance of consequences alongside duties. Both the strict adherence to duty as advanced by Kant and the pluralist approach by Ross offer diverse interpretations within deontological ethics regarding how moral decisions should be approached and resolved.