Kantian deontological ethics holds that human dignity is inviolable and that persons must always be treated as ends in themselves, never merely as means, which categorically forbids actions such as torture regardless of the anticipated good outcome. This is contrasted with utilitarian consequentialist ethics, which evaluates the moral status of an act by weighing aggregate outcomes (e.g., lives saved) rather than by categorical rules, permitting exceptions to prohibitions like torture when net welfare calculations favor them. The domain is normative moral philosophy, specifically the foundational debate between deontology and consequentialism regarding rights, dignity, and the justification of coercive state action.
Kantian deontological ethics holds that human dignity is inviolable and that persons must always be treated as ends in themselves, never merely as means, which categorically forbids actions such as t…