deontologism

Noun

deontology (usually uncountable, plural deontologies)

1. (usually) Synonym of ethics (“the study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct”).
   • [Matthew Hale] was no reformer: nothing better than an expounder: every thing stated by him was stated as he found it, or conceived it to be: no inquiries as to what it ought to be: in the eyes of lawyers—not to speak of the dupes—that is to say, as yet, the generality of non-lawyers—the is and the...1826 October, Jeremy Bentham, “Art. VIII.—Observations on the Actual State of the English Law of Real Property, with the Outlines of a Code. By James Humphreys, Esq. of Lincoln’s Inn, Barrister. 8vo....

   Synonyms:

   moral philosophy, ethics

   1. (specifically, usually) The normative ethical theory that the morality of an action is based on whether the action follows certain obligations or rules, rather than on its inherent goodness, consequences, etc.