...The Categorical Imperative Analyzing Immanuel Kant’s Grounding for A Metaphysics of Morals Anders Bordum WP 4/2002 January 2002 MPP Working Paper No. 4/2002 © January 2002 ISBN: 87-91181-06-2 ISSN: 1396-2817 Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy Copenhagen Business School Blaagaardsgade 23B DK-2200 Copenhagen N Denmark Phone: +45 38 15 36 30 Fax: +45 38 15 36 35 E-mail: as.lpf@cbs.dk www.cbs.dk/departments/mpp 2 The Categorical Imperative Analyzing Immanuel Kant's Grounding for a Metaphysics of Morals By Anders Bordum Keywords: Categorical imperative, discourse ethics, duty, ethics, monologic, dialogic, Immanuel Kant, Jürgen Habermas, self-legislation, self-reference. 3 Abstract In this article I first argue that Immanuel Kant’s conception of the categorical imperative is important to his philosophy. I systematically, though indirectly, interconnect the cognitive and moral aspects of his thinking. Second, I present an interpretation of the Kantian ethics, taking as my point of departure, the concept of the categorical imperative. Finally, I show how the categorical imperative is given a dialogical interpretation by Jürgen Habermas in his approach, usually referred to as discourse ethics. I argue that the dialogical approach taken by discourse ethics is more justifiable and therefore more usefuli. I The Synthesis of Rationalism and Empiricism The philosophy of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is in the main inspired...
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...QUEEN OF APOSTLES PHILOSOPHY CENTRE JINJA (PCJ) CRITIQUE OF THE NOTION OF AUTONOMY IN KANT’S MORAL PHILOSOPHY AN UNDER GRADUATE DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE INSTITUTE OF ETHICS AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES OF UGANDA MARTYRS UNIVERSITY (UMU) NKOZI, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN PHILOSOPHY BISIMWA MUNYALI EVARISTE MARCH 2011 1 DEDICACE This work is dedicated in a special way to: My ever loving and caring God, My family and the community of the Missionaries of Africa. 2 DECLARATION I………………………………………………………..have read the rules of Uganda Martyrs University on plagiarism and hereby state that this work is my own. It has not been submitted anywhere else for any qualification. I have acknowledged the secondary sources used in this work. NAME OF STUDENT…………………………………………………………. SIGNATURE…………………………………………………………………… DATE: …………………………………………………………………………… SUPERVISOR………………………………………………………………….. SIGNATURE…………………………………………………………………… DATE: ………………………………………………………………………….. 3 ABSTRACT The importance of a philosophical study dealing with moral issues, especially the principle of autonomy is indisputably great. It is a common agreement that morality is located within the scope of duty. Kant corroborates this held agreement by stating the categorical imperative which every human is obliged to act upon. He conceived this categorical imperative as the moral law which all those who claim to be moral beings have to live on. However, he also affirmed...
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...Immanuel Kant’s principle that it is better to do what's morally just. I will explain why Mill’s theory served as a better guide to moral behavior and differentiate between the rights and responsibilities of human beings to themselves and society. Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill are philosophers who addressed the issues of morality in terms of how moral customs are formed. Immanuel Kant presented one perspective in The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals that is founded on his belief that the worth of man is inherent in his skill to reason. John Stuart Mill holds another belief as presented in the book, Utilitarianism, which is seemingly conflicting with the thoughts of Kant. What is most unique about the ethics of morality is the idea of responsibilities to particular individuals. According to both Mill and Kant, moral obligations are not fundamentally particularistic because they are rooted in universal moral principles. Both philosophers have made great impacts in their niche areas in the field. An analysis of their theories may help develop a better understanding of them and their theories. Mill holds an empiricist theory while Kant holds a rationalist theory. Kant explains morality through forms that he believes are essential to free and sensible judgment. Mill’s utilitarian approach is a form of consequential theory because the rightness or wrongness of an act is determined by the outcomes. Kant’s ethics of duty is the foundation for his categorical imperative...
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...Introduction The purpose of this case assignment centers on the examination of the how the Adelphia Communications’ executives violated the trust of the company’s shareholders and the trust of the community through the analytical view of deontological ethics. This analysis will be achieved by defining deontological ethics and Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative. A review of the Adelphia Communications Scandal will be conducted with a general assessment of what ethical issues were present based on deontological ethics and Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative. The Adelphia Communications Scandal The Adelphia Communications Corporation was the sixth largest provider of cable services in the United States prior to filing bankruptcy in 2002 due to a major accounting scandal. Adelphia’s management intentionally misled investors by falsifying financial statements to give the appearance the organization was financially solid and performing well above normal, by excluding billions of dollars of debt from financial statements. The auditors fail to find any fraudulent action in the financial statements. John Rigas was the original founder of the corporation and later joined with his brother and sons. The Adelphia Communications Corporation (investors) provided over $2.3 billion worth of personal loans to the Rigas family. The Rigas family received assets via fund transfers from the Adelphia Communications Corporation through journal entries to purchase...
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...Section One In section one, Kant argues from common sense morality to the supreme principle of morality, which he calls the categorical imperative. Kant thinks that uncontroversial premises from our shared common sense morality, and analysis of common sense concepts such as ‘the good’, ‘duty’, and ‘moral worth’, will yield the supreme principle of morality, namely, the categorical imperative. Kant’s discussion in section one can be roughly divided into four parts: (1) The good will (2) The teleological argument. (3) The three propositions regarding duty and (4) The categorical imperative. The Good Will Kant thinks that, with the exception of the good will, all goods are qualified. By qualified, Kant means that those goods are good insofar as they presuppose or derive their goodness from something else. Take wealth as an example. Wealth can be extremely good if it is used for human welfare, but it can be disastrous if a corrupt mind is behind it. In a similar vein, we often desire intelligence and take it to be good, but we certainly would not take the intelligence of an evil genius to be good. The good will, by contrast, is good in itself. Kant writes, “A good will is not good because of what it effects or accomplishes, because of its fitness to attain some proposed end, but only because its volition, that is, it is good initself . . . .” (4:394) The precise nature of the good will is subject to scholarly debate. The Teleological Argument Kant believes that a teleological...
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...Outline Kant: Basic definition and Ideas Mentions that good will, virtue of freedom are essential in obtaining happiness. Claims that establishment of a good will: shaping important desires, and attaining reasons for a good will is a process of striving for satisfaction. Very introspective to sensibility: Will is more valuable in making decisions than decisions under natural phenomenon. (Practical reason vs. Rational reason) Morality First Proposition of Morality: The relationship between duty and inclination: inclination has more personal connection and motivations which make the decisions and actions more introspective, which is why we need a strong will. Decisions can be moral if people do not perform actions under what they are told but truly become introspective about what they have in mind. Second Proposition of Morality: Duty lacks personal responsibility and thus, it cannot be understood as having followed by material principle. Third Proposition of Morality: Similar to the above: duty does not have a full account of respect, therefore does not require personal commitment into thinking under morality Mill: Basic definition and Ideas: Mentions satisfaction level, yet happiness are ultimately due to pride and dignity. Happiness cannot be measured under any quantity terms and each type of happiness is different. Happiness is the absence of pain and pleasure and unhappiness is deprivation of pain and pleasure. He also believes that people should enjoy...
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...Kate’s decision would go against Kant’s theory because he does not believe in killing people or controlling ones fate. Kate’s decision to abort her unborn child based on her own experience in foster care and because her lack of support, is not valid reason to take a life. A fetus is considered a potential life and she is taking potential of life away by aborting child. This decision would violate Kant’s theory of the end-itself. This means one should never kill or experiment on one’s life without consent and an unborn child can not consent to this decision. For Kant’s theory of categorical imperative: Kate’s ought to use protection or practice abstinence if she isn’t ready for a child. 3. Analyze Kate’s decision from a utilitarian perspective. Utilitarian’s ethics theory focuses on the consequence stage of the decision making process. Kate’s decision to abort her unborn child would bring the overall maximization of utility because she is taking the life of her child without torturing it. The abortion would make Kate happy because she doesn’t have...
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...order to use one of these methods you have to understand these theories and their purposes. Immanuel Kant was a dominant philosopher of his time (1724-1804), the theory of Kant is the most difficult to understand but when understood is a simple approach. Kant argues that “the moral worth of an action is to be judged not by its consequences but by the nature of the maxim or principal that motivated the action”(Cahn pg. 98). The only actions that are correct are the ones that can serve as universal laws. People should act only on principles or maxims that can be universalized without contradiction. Another theory that is the theory of a leading English philosopher known as John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), his theory differentiates between Kant’s in that his concentrates on the consequences of an action rather than the motive for an action. Mill’s theory is known as utilitarianism, this view is grounded off that principle that morality is to act as so to produce as much happiness as possible, each person counting equally. Mill’s view of happiness is defined as pleasure with the absence of pain. The theory of Aristotle, student of Plato...
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...words) 2. Suppose Ford officials were asked to justify their decision. What moral principles do you think they would invoke? Assess Ford’s handling of the Pinto from the perspective of each of the moral theories discussed in this chapter. The theory of egoism is most suitable to describe the Ford Pinto case. Ford is doing things that benefit the organization itself. In addition, Ford only considered the short term benefits and neglected the long term interests of the organization itself. The handling of the Pinto from the perspective of each of the moral theories is as following. Act utilitarianism says that Ford did not produce the greatest possible balance of cost-benefit calculation for everyone affected. According to the Kant’s categorical imperatives, Ford should not place a monetary value on a human life. Based on W.D.Ross’s 7 basic Prima Facie Duties, Ford failed to apply the duties of nonmalefience because they did not produce safe cars. Lastly, Ford is unethical when applying the ethic of caring. Ford not only produced dangerous products, they also hide the truth of the defective Pinto from the customers. (144 words) 3. Utilitarians would say that jeopardising motorists does not by itself make Ford’s action morally objectionable. The only morally relevant matter is whether Ford gave equal consideration to the interests of each affected party. Do you...
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...University of California Theresa Carter Module 1 Case Assignment ETH501: Business Ethics Saturday, April 26, 2014 A Master’s paper submitted to the faculty of University of California In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Graduate Diploma in Master’s Degree in Business Management Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to provide a critical analysis of the 2002 collapse of Adelphia Communications as seen through the lens of Immanuel Kant deontological ethics. This analysis will be accomplished by providing a brief time lime of the Adelphia, identifying and discussing two key ethical problems raised and describing what is meant by deontological ethics. More specifically this paper will show how Kant’s Categorical Imperative (CI) applies to this scenario. The latter discussion will apply the deontological framework of business ethics to the two key ethical problems by constructing CI to the Adelphia scenario. The supporting material for this discussion can be found at Harvard University’s 2011 lecture: Justice, What’s the right thing to do? as presented by Professor Michael Sandel8. To examine the elements of the case, we will inspect the unethical behavior of five key figures culpable in the “rise and fall of the small town saga of epic dimensions8”. John J. Rigas (Founder), his two sons; Timothy J. Riga’s (CFO), Michael J. Riga’s (VP of Operations), James R. Brown (VP of Finance) and Michael C. Mulcahey (Director of Internal...
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...Touro University California Theresa Williams-Rivers Module 1 Case Assignment ETH501: Business Ethics Dr. Gary Shelton Saturday, April 26, 2014 A Master’s paper submitted to the faculty of Touro University California In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Graduate Diploma in Master’s Degree in Business Management Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to provide a critical analysis of the 2002 collapse of Adelphia Communications as seen through the lens of Immanuel Kant deontological ethics. This analysis will be accomplished by providing a brief time lime of the Adelphia, identifying and discussing two key ethical problems raised and describing what is meant by deontological ethics. More specifically this paper will show how Kant’s Categorical Imperative (CI) applies to this scenario. The latter discussion will apply the deontological framework of business ethics to the two key ethical problems by constructing CI to the Adelphia scenario. The supporting material for this discussion can be found at Harvard University’s 2011 lecture: Justice, What’s the right thing to do? as presented by Professor Michael Sandel8. To examine the elements of the case, we will inspect the unethical behavior of five key figures culpable in the “rise and fall of the small town saga of epic dimensions8”. John J. Rigas (Founder), his two sons; Timothy J. Riga’s (CFO), Michael J. Riga’s (VP of Operations), James R. Brown (VP of Finance) and Michael...
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...being put to test. Luke has to choose between being loyal to the company or care for his brother’s personal finances. Luke has two possible options in this situation. What decision will be ethical? Since he works for ABC, he has the obligation and responsibility of maintaining confidentiality and loyalty to the company. On the other hand, his brother’s decision to wait for a better offer for the house might be greatly influenced and negatively affected by the project proposed by ABC. Luke’s relationship with his family might get damaged if he decides to keep quiet, but if he warns his brother ahead of time, his job and reputation will be in jeopardy. Utilitarianism and Kant’s categorical imperative theories will help get a better understanding of what ethical decision should be made in this situation. Analysis: Utilitarianism This philosophy stands for the...
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...never explained how individuals obtain data and also how we develop the data acquired. David Hume awakened him from his slump in 1781 he responded with Critique of Pure Reason. He produced many works in the years to follow. Kant claimed that just because something is not proven real doesn’t mean that it’s not real. In his essay “Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment?” he stated “if one cannot prove that a thing is, he may try to prove that it is not. And if he succeeds in doing neither (as often occurs), he may still ask whether it is in his interest to accept one or the other of the alternatives hypothetically, from the theoretical or the practical point of view”. Philosophical discussion and analysis have been influenced with Kant’s ideas. Kant’s moral philosophy was extended in three works: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason, and...
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...Introduction The unfortunate tragedies involving the explosion of Ford Pinto's due to a design defect led to a main debate regarding the use of a cost-benefit analysis and the ethics revolving around the company’s decision to go further with the initial, defective prototype. Ethical Dilemma Ford was completely aware of the safety issues the prototype was facing, but solving the issue would cause great disadvantage for the company: production schedule had to be modified, resulting in delays to bring the new car on the market, and also production costs would increase. In this context an ethical dilemma raised, so two crucial issues were addressed: either go further with the production of Pinto regardless the defects and the danger to future customers, or delay the production and modify the original model to assure safety and reliability, regardless the higher costs? Ford’s decision was to continue the production of the defective design while basing it on a cost-benefit analysis. In this context another dilemma was created: should such an analysis be used in situations where defects could lead to death or cause tremendous harm, such as in the Ford Pinto situation? Utilitarianism Based on the information provided by Ford, the company assumed and decided that the most benefit would come from going ahead with the production of the initial design. Utilitarianism is defined as a normative, empirical philosophy that is based on the principle that “the right thing to...
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...theories of W.D. Ross’s ethical intuitionism with Immanuel Kant’s formula for the categorical imperative. The categorical imperative, as noted by Audi, can systemise Ross’s principles of duty through the intrinsic machinations of an individual to be expanded into a universal understanding, thus presenting a formation of moral intuitionism (Robert Audi, The Good in the Right: A Theory in Intuitionism and Intrinsic Value, Page 96). It can therefore, be argued that suicide is an intrinsically immoral action, especially when considered for the purpose of art. It is also crucial to point out the commentary of the title, which can be interpreted as stating the action of suicide is not only acceptable but also a “wise” decision. This, therefore, leads to a conversation upon the notion of moral evils, evil that is incited by the actions of human beings, which are consequently more apparently challenged within this musical subgenre. Moral evils, which once again originated from a moral absolutism arena, could subsequently be applied to such an extreme score such as Music for Wise Men and thus, it is understandable that this composition, in its imperative nature, can be labelled as a moral evil. Another method in which to analyse the ethical nature of music is through the ideologies held within theories of consequentalism. John Mizzoni demonstrates the basis of the consequentalism perspective through the common process of ethical analysis: Intention that leads to action and in the end defines...
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