Quiz Entry - updated: 2026.10.15
How do deontology and utilitarianism approach the question of surveillance differently?
Deontology (duty ethics) focuses on human rights, dignity and autonomy and asks "Is this permissible at all?" Utilitarianism focuses on security, benefit and harm reduction and asks "Does it lead to better outcomes?"
| Deontology (Pflichtethik) | Utilitarianism (Nutzethik) | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | (Human) rights, dignity, autonomy | Security, benefit, minimising harm |
| Key question | May we do this at all? | Does it lead to better results? |
| On a camera at a station | Filming innocent people treats them as suspects and infringes their privacy, whatever it achieves | Justified if the prevented crimes outweigh the loss of privacy |
Surveillance debates are usually a clash between these two lenses. Supporters count crimes prevented and solved. Critics point to rights that may not be traded away for a better total, however large the benefit.
Go deeper:
Wikipedia: Deontology — duty ethics: some acts are off-limits whatever the outcome.
Wikipedia: Utilitarianism — judging acts by their total consequences.