...After reading Kant’s paper, “Kant and The Categorical Imperative.” I had to read it a couple times to fully understand the point Kant was trying to make, but overall I enjoyed his paper and thought he made some interesting points about moral rules and moral obligations. However, regarding the “Case of the Inquiring Murderer,” I believe a utilitarian would lie to the murderer to protect the victim. I think a utilitarian would lie because the utilitarian focuses on the consequences or the goals of our actions and wants to promote the greater good, so that everyone can achieve maximum happiness. If he told the truth, the consequence of his action is that he just allowed an innocent man to die. Therefore, he is not promoting the greater good, and...
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..... Explain the role of the categorical imperative within Kant’s theory A Categorical Imperative is a should statement, but it is not based on experience, and doesn’t rely on outcome. Instead, it precedes experience by using logic, or helps us make sense of our experiences. When considering another are of thinking, Kant showed that we must assume that time moves forwards, but also that our mind forces this on our experiences to make sense of them. Therefore as human beings we could never demonstrate or prove this through experience. This is how the categorical imperative works: certain actions are logically inconsistent and would make no sense as universal laws, such as lying. Therefore, ‘Do not lie’ is a categorical imperative and it’s this understanding that our mind plays an active role in ordering and determining our experience was ground-breaking. Kant states the categorical imperative as follows:” I ought never to act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal law”. This quote specifically highlights the true nature of the categorical imperative within Kant’s ethical theory. Another interpretation of the categorical imperative is that it is supposed to provide a way for us to evaluate moral actions and to make moral judgments. It is not a command to perform specific actions; it is simply formal procedure by which to evaluate any action about which might be morally relevant. According to Kant, the moral law is universal...
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...Kant's Categorical Imperative Deontology is the ethical view that some actions are morally forbidden or permitted regardless of consequences. One of the most influential deontological philosophers in history is Immanuel Kant who developed the idea of the Categorical Imperative. Kant believed that the only thing of intrinsic moral worth is a good will. Kant says in his work Morality and Rationality “The good will is not good because of what it affects or accomplishes or because of it’s adequacy to achieve some proposed end; it is good only because of it’s willing, i.e., it is good of itself”. A maxim is the generalized rule that characterizes the motives for a person’s actions. For Kant, a will that is good is one that is acting by the maxim of doing the right thing because it is right thing to do. The moral worth of an action is determined by whether or not it was acted upon out of respect for the moral law, or the Categorical Imperative. Imperatives in general imply something we ought to do however there is a distinction between categorical imperatives and hypothetical imperatives. Hypothetical imperatives are obligatory so long as we desire X. If we desire X we ought to do Y. However, categorical imperatives are not subject to conditions. The Categorical Imperative is universally binding to all rational creatures because they are rational. Kant proposes three formulations the Categorical Imperative in his Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Moral, the Universal Law formulation...
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...Kant is a firm believer in intent being the basis of morality. If one’s intentions are pure and selfless than that is the recipe for high morality according to Kant. Consequences should not be a part of this recipe. No matter what the consequences are, one should always act with valor, listening to the voice that whispers what one should do out of basic human duty. Acting on duty is the highest form of freedom and morality. When describing Kant’s moral theory you must understand what is meant by hypothetical and categorical imperatives. Hypothetical imperatives stem from the wants experienced in life. If I want to do this, I ought to do that. For example, if I want to go to Mars, I ought to become an astronaut. In contrast, categorical imperatives...
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...Kantian Ethics Give an account of Kant’s ethical theory [25] Immanuel Kant was a philosopher who was born in the 16th century. The essence of his ethics is that all human beings are striving for goodness and that the use of power of reason solves any moral dilemma. This is known as the ‘summon bonum’. He developed his own ethical theory based around the idea of moral law. He was looking for some sort of objective basis for morality as a hole, a clear and scientific way. Kant believed that we could use reason to work out a consistent, non-overridable set of moral principles. Immanuel’s ethical theory is deontological, so it is based on the idea that an act’s claim to being right or wrong is independent of the consequences of that action. His theory uses practical reason to look at the argument before deciding what to do about the situation. His ethical statements are described as a priori synthetic, this means that a statement is knowable before sense experience, but requires sense experience for final verification but it may be true or false. His theory basically explains that all humans must do their duty, without the need for experience. Kant believed in right or wrong based on reason, he relies on intuitions or facts. For Kant, practical reason looks at the evidence and the argument, he says it cannot depend on external factors. For his own ethical theory, only good will counts. Good will is at the very centre of ethics, the person is a free moral agent and not one...
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...from God, from human origins and nature, or from human reason. Instead of asking whether an action will result in a particular type of consequence, either good or bad, as is the case with utilitarianism and social contract, deontologists ask whether an action is consistent with a particular principle or rule. In Module 5, we studied the ethical deontological categorical imperative of Immanuel Kant. Kant does not believe the authority for duty-driven activity is God. Kant believes that human will is the highest authority. He believes this “highest authority" emanates from the use of human reason. In short, Perhaps Kant’s “duty” is not as absolute as one might suppose. Human ordained moral action is often subject to change according to personal preference. For Kant, the moral action conforms to a law of human origin and is absolute—it admits no exceptions, and it is universally binding. One is obligated to follow the commands of morality, whether one feels like it or not and despite personal consequences. One simply must follow the command out of respect for human reason. This forms the basis of Kant’s Categorical Imperative– if one can do the right thing, one...
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...theory called “deontology”, which was introduced by Immanuel Kant. This theory is more focused on what the people do, not the consequences of their actions. In other words, the people have a duty to act accordingly to the Categorical Imperatives, despite the fact that the actions will cause good or bad results (Bbc.co.uk, 2014). There are 3 formulations of the categorical imperative, which are the obligation to do our duty; our duty is derived by reason; and that reason gives rise to the need to observe categorical imperatives. In order to find out if things are categorical imperatives, Kant offers three principles for us to consider, such as the formula of universal law, the formula of the end in itself, and the formula of universal acceptability (Yount, n.d.). If the actions fail one or more of these tests, they should be avoided. In this essay, I am going to use Kant’s deontology principals to argue and to find out the solutions of the case of the confectionary company. The main issue in this case is that the children do not experience pleasure in their childhood. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bbc.co.uk. (2014). Duty-based ethics. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/duty_1.shtml [Accessed 9 Jul. 2016]. Yount, D. (n.d.). IMMANUEL KANT’S ETHICAL THEORY RIGHTS AND DUTIES. [online] Available at: http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BUS205-11.3.2-Immanuel-Kants-Ethical-Theory.pdf [Accessed 9 Jul....
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...to heal the damaged society. As V takes on the totalitarianism society run by the British Government, he displays to Kant’s theories that he is the opposite. Although his morals might be in the right place, he continuously uses others to meet the ends of his own means, which directly goes against Kant’s categorical imperative. Along with this, V’s revenge seeking mission goes against another maxim Kant put on his categorical imperative. This is the ‘universality’ maxim. If everyone were doing what V was doing the entire time, many more people would have been killed as well as they are would be no conflict in the first place. What the ‘party’ or the government of Great Britain has been doing the entire time would have never have occurred if they were all fighting the party like V was. V goes against every bit of Kant’s categorical imperative and justifies his own ends through other peoples will. V doesn’t force anyone to do anything in V for Vendetta but rather offers him or her a question of joining or opposing his ways. Sussman 2 As the film progresses, V just shows us how much he actually opposes the guidelines of Kant’s first maxim in his theory of the categorical imperative. The first maxim being universality, V shows the audience that he is the only one who can be doing this and no one else would have the bloodthirsty passion that runs through his veins. V being the one who survived the horrific fire back when the labs, and cells went a blaze, has the burning passion to seek and...
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...Deontology: ethics, especially the branch dealing with duty, moral obligation, and right action. Kant's moral deontology is developed around a notion of a good will (acting from the morally proper motive) First, Kant explains that there is what he believes "a moral law." In that, actions must be done from a sense of duty if they are to have moral worth. He says the only good thing that exists without qualifications is a good will (or good intentions). He says that other things bring about the idea of goodness but are not actually good. For instance, happiness is good! But because happiness could potentially cause someone else to be unhappy, it's not really good. So basically his idea of the "good will" is that you should do the right thing only for the reason that it is the right thing, not because it makes you happy, not for personal gain and not because of your own inclinations. This leads into his categorical imperative theory. Kant says that you should always act so that you can will the rule of your action to be a universal law. It shouldn't be that you want to accomplish something for something, it should just be that you want to accomplish something. Four main principles of the categorical imperative theory 1: Treat everyone as an end, rather than the means. Don't use people 2:Our free will is practical. 3: Act as though your will is universal law 4: Value should not be put on a human life If everyone treated each other this way, we will have achieved "The...
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...viewpoint by Aristotle, the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant and the Utilitarianism Theory of morality view by John Stuart Mill are the three classical theories of morality. An individual’s acts did not define who they were morally, but the person’s life as a whole did according to Aristotle. Meaning, the things a person did over their lifetime would determine if they had morals or not. This was known as the Nicomachean Ethics viewpoint. In today’s society, this could relate to someone who was an overall moral citizen, but one day that changed for them and they did something horribly wrong. For example, a husband or a wife killing their spouse and the spouses lover because they were found cheating. Aristotle believed the action that was an abnormality should not be considered when considering whether the person was good or bad, but that their good works over their lifetime should be considered. Aristotle believed there were three types of life: one devoted to sensual pleasures, one seeking out political interests and the other being a life of thoughts (Arthur, J. and Scalet, S., 2014). With very different beliefs Immanuel Kant believed that if an action is wrong it will forever be wrong, and there is no justification for those specific actions. However, he does make note that most decisions are based on a sense of duty and people’s rights, and felt that those decisions took priority over a certain action. Kant had three basic concepts of morality, first, having a sense...
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...CRACK Should women addicted to crack be able to have children? Barbara Harris says no. Harris has adopted four children from a drug addict. She has also founded CRACK (Children Requiring A Caring Kommunity) a non-profit organization that offers $200 in cash to addicts who agree to be sterilized or undergo long-term contraception like Norplant, which is surgically imbedded under the skin. In this essay I will be discussing what the ethical dilemma is, who the stakeholders are in this ethical dilemma, analyzing the problem by reference to the categorical imperative, analyzing the problem from a Kantian and utilitarian standpoint and giving my overall opinion of this matter. As I understand it the ethical dilemma here is the procedure in itself. Some are saying that the women are doing it for the money to buy more drugs. Also, saying that it takes away women rights to reproduce. Physicians and attorneys are saying that the women are in no condition to consent to being sterilized. They say that because these women are mentally ill and poor they are not capable of making their own decisions. But Barbara Harris from her own experiences says that women addicted to crack do not need to have babies. These women are bringing babies into the world addicted to crack. She tells of a story of how she adopted four children from a crack addicted woman. One of the children would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. She says it looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head...
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...grace and the poise of the athletes. I love the tension between the ornate structure of the game and its improvisatory chaos, and I love the way great players find opportunity, even a mystical kind of order, in the midst of that chaos (Almond).” As moral thinkers of philosophy how can we sit around ignoring the players? The fans come together to watch, with passion, young men battle it out to win a trophy and godlike fame. With that said fans watching the game are partaking in this ritual. The fans are not just partaking, but influencing the game itself. Buying player’s jerseys or worshiping their favorite team. So we must ask ourselves, is it immoral to watch the Super Bowl? Immanuel Kant a Prussian philosopher in the late 1700s might be able to explain this conundrum. Kant believed in Deontology, the position that judges the morality of an action based on actions that follow to certain rules. Deontology looks at an action and determines if it is right or wrong based on the action...
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...First of all, Kant would say that you should never tell a lie in any instance, ever. The reason for this is that he would say that everyone is responsible for their own actions. One of the ways to tell if you should do something or not, based on Kant’s ideas is to see if I as a person would like to live in a world where everyone was doing that action. So, in the case of lying, I would never be able to lie, because I would not want to live in a world where everyone lied always in every instance. Furthermore, Kant would say that, if I do lie, then I would be responsible for the consequences. However, one of my biggest problems, raised by the book, is that Kant never really seemed to explain whether someone would be responsible for the consequences of telling the truth....
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...Kant vs. Nietzsche One of the most fundamental questions in philosophy is what the most important thing we are looking for is and what effects it has on our lives. There are different views related to such a fundamental question. The treatment of people is the question of morality. We are going to take a look at positions taken by great German philosophers Kant and Nietzsche on the question of morality and the way people should be treated, based on their arguments presented in theories developed by them. Kant’s philosophy is based on the assumption that there is a metaphysical dimension which implies that there are some absolute things that do exist outside of human beings and which are the ends in themselves (not intended to promote an achievement of any other end). Kant calls these abstract absolute things the categorical imperative. The categorical imperative in his view is something that is not dependent on anything else and, therefore, should be something that we should strive for. The concept of the categorical imperative is important because we can use it to determine whether our actions are being moral through the application of the universal law, which implies the categorical imperative. The universal law says that we should never act except in such a way that we can also will that our maxim should become a universal law. The whole system of Kant’s morality is based on the assumption that there is an autonomous will, which is the source of moral action and decision-making...
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...Chong Bland (Linda) Ken Maddox Business Ethics 4/09/2011 Week # 3 Drop box assignment Immanuel Kant and his contribution to the study of business ethics Immanuel Kant focuses mainly on the role of duty. He believes that actions can be in accord with duty or be from duty. Duty is defined as an action which we are obligated to perform out of respect for the moral law. Moral law is practical reason, which is in every rational person, though some people are more aware of it than others. Moral law is having the knowledge of the difference between good and evil, and an inner conviction that we should do what is good. The concept of duty includes good will. Good will is good without qualification; it is good in itself and good through willing alone. It comes from an instinct within us and cannot be denied. Good will can be seen in moderation, self-control and sober reflection. There are things in everyday life that have to do with duty. We are innately born with the capacity to learn right from wrong. Every single human being is molded by their parents, teachers, and anyone else who is a part of their life, from there on is how we determine what is good and what is evil. It is my duty to preserve my life. This idea works because there are many people there are many people who hate their lives and yet they will still keep their life dear to them. These people are not doing it for self satisfaction; it is just their duty to live on. A man...
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