Rossian Deontology

Abstract This chapter first presents the basics of W. D. Ross’s views on ethics and then gives an account of deontology, discussing the extent to which Ross’s view fits this account, and providing an outline of a view that, although departing from Ross’s in some ways, is Rossian in spirit and shares some features of deontology as standardly conceived. The chapter discusses two metaethical issues: the nature of practical reasons and the question of whether there are moral principles, even the prima facie ones to which Ross subscribes. The chapter also characterizes the main view to which Ross was opposed, what was then called ‘ideal utilitarianism’ (as advocated by G. E. Moore), and assesses Ross’s arguments against it. This view is now known as ‘(standard) consequentialism’, and it contends that humans have only one moral duty: to maximize the good.