Journal of Philosophical Research

Volume 16, 1991

Judith Andre
Pages 407-410

The Demands of Deontology Are Not So Paradoxical

The “paradox of deontology” depends partly upon ignoring the special responsibility each person has for her own actions, and partly upon ignoring the essential differences between refraining from X and persuading another to refrain. But only in part; the paradoxical situations schematized by Shaw can occasionally occur. When they do, his pragmatic defense of deontology is sound.