Deontology – Asks what is the right action?
Teleology – Asks how is the greatest good accomplished?Hmmm…not being able to be both simultaneously leads me to believe you can perhaps be either one depending on the circumstances and situations that arise. Everyone probably has a default way by which they process most quickly and most automatically. A person may initially go to one way of processing ethically, and then switch to the other. We need both though, individually and collectively. We have governance bodies and think tanks and millions of non-profits globally doing more of the teleological thinking, but that doesn’t exclude individuals from sharpening those skills as well.
Society seems to instill within us deontological
programming. In the schools, in corporations,
in churches, there are behaviors that are acceptable and those that are
not. Abrahamic religions pay a lot of
attention to “the law,” believing the laws to be the will of God. Also, people
may need to conform to the social environment in order to fit in as a
contributing law-abiding citizen initially, so that we don’t become a society living
in complete anarchy and lawlessness. But
I understand that yes, there are times when someone breaks with their
deontological thinking to run a red light to get someone to the hospital in a
life-threatening situation.
And yes, there may
even be some survival instincts embedded in our thought processes that might
give us deontological tendencies, too.
From an early age, many of us were told to obey the laws of the land
(deontological), but what happens in an oppressive racist system where the laws
of the land were Jim Crow? Within the Civil Rights movement, I can see where
teleological thinking had to kick in. It was time for “unjust” laws to change
in order for a good outcome for all in our society could come forth. As for the millions of law-abiding citizens
who looked the other way when injustices were taking place or who favored the
laws as they were, I guess they would be classic deontologists. There are times
when the awareness of injustices has to be raised in order for teleological
initiatives to garner support and mobilize. Any one of us could sit around and
not know the adverse impact a law is having on someone until it’s brought to
our attention. This is now happening with many issues today- - the awareness of
the issue has to be raised in the public’s mind.
There’s seems to be a rise in teleologic thinking taking
place now…or visibly so, in terms of social activism and creating a world that
works for all. I think the human race is
coming around, and in every religion there’s a shift in consciousness taking
place in which many are re-examining their teachings, such as:
What is hateful to
you, do not do to others. – Rabbi Hillel
Do not hurt others
with that which hurts yourself. – Buddha
Do unto other whatever
you would have them do unto you. – JesusNone of you is a believer until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself. – Muhammad[1]
The question is - - how do we do this? How can the human
race work for a good outcome using these principles? Here’s a clue according to:
Andrew Harvey and Chris
Saade on their video “Engaged Spirituality, Part 1” (http://www.theolivebranchcenter.net/VideosSecondWave.asp)
Andrew Harvey: “The
second wave is I believe the gift of the Divine Mother to us to help us birth a
new embodied divine humanity through sacred activism and the implementation of
the central messages of all of the traditions of love and compassion, in
action.”
Chris Saade: “Engage
spirituality, engage mysticism, engage faith have become the key words of
today’s theological thinking in every tradition.”
This week’s class gave me great insights, new learning, and
challenged my thinking…I have a feeling we’ve only begun to scratch the
surface, but at least it’s a start as far as beginning to deal with the issues
confronting our world and the lives of congregants. Something’s got to give. As history has shown us, the rigidity of
legalism in any institution, secular or non-secular, can build walls that
become so brittle they crack and fall…like the Berlin Wall. Maybe more walls need to fall. We live in such a
complex world now-- I know I will spend the rest of my life going back and
forth between a deontologist and
teleologist. I am not so presumptuous to think I can debate out all the
tough issues today or solve world hunger at this particular moment, but now I
have some additional tools to weigh these issues out in my own mind and heart
with love and compassion and be divinely directed to act.
[1] Sharif
Abdullah, Creating a World that Works for
All (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1999), p.13
I very much appreciate your observation that "There are times when the awareness of injustices has to be raised in order for teleological initiatives to garner support and mobilize." Well reasoned and very thoughtful post.
ReplyDeleteDinah, I thought you presented a great article! I really resonate with the idea of an engaged teleological approach. I agree with you in that while we are probably hardwired a certain way, depending on the situation we may choose a different approach.
ReplyDelete