1. Kant Revision

2.

Theory based on reason/ logic (a priori)

Kant is a Rationalist

Not clouded by emotion or sense experience

Ethical dilemmas based on intention, not unknown future outcomes = Deontological

3. Duty

Doing what is right for no other reason than because it is good/ the right thing to do.

Doing duty for dutys sake.

No emotions or ulterior motives

Duty involves freely choosing the action

All rational beings have a sense of right and wrong.

As long as you do your duty you are morally blameless.

Duty is discovered through the categorical imperative.

What happens when duties conflict?

4. Goodwill

A moral action is one performed with goodwill, wanting to benefit others good intention.

Goodwill shines forth like a precious jewel.

Goodwill is the highest form of good.

Kant used example of shop keeper:

A shop keeper might be pleasant but it is basically because s/he wants the customers money, in order to make profit.

Act only good if its an act based on the sense of good will.

it is impossible to conceive of anything at all in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good without qualification, except good will.

All other qualities e.g. kindness can be misused.

5. Moral law

Duty + goodwill = moral law.

To act morally is to do ones duty and ones duty is to obey the moral law.

All moral life strives for the summon bonum.

The moral law within meaning that everyone can reason how they ought to behave in a situation.

Free to choose to act towards moral law or not.

Summon Bonum

Humans seek an ultimate end called the supreme good,

Not achievable in this life, therefore must be an afterlife and a God/ Deity to guarantee this.

6.

Imperatives essential acts/ must dos

In Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals.

Two types of imperatives

Hypothetical Imperative : If I want x I must do y.

E.g. if you want to go on holiday, I have to save up for it.

There is no obligation to obey this imperative unless you want to achieve the outcome.

Hypothetical imperative no good as a absolute moral rule because these judgments not connected with morals and they are dependant on outcome. If I do this... Then this will happen = teleological

Categorical Imperative : You should You must You will = absolute/ objective

Kant gives four examples to explain his First Formulation of Categorical Imperative:

Making a lying promise

Suicide

Neglecting ones talent

Refraining from helping others

7.

Formulation 1

Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it will become a universal law.

The action is right if the maxim (general rule) can be universalized.

E.g. if everyone had an abortion universally: they are breaking their duty to reproduce but human race would also die out.

Formulation2

Every rational being exists as an end in himself and not merely as a means to be arbitrarily used by this or that will.

Do not use people as a means to your own end

Formulation3

A kingdom of means.

To preserve moral integrity of each individual, every individual should behave as though every other individual was an end.

8. Evaluation

Are we rational?

No common moral code within humanity: right and wrong depends on culture/ society brought up in

Can we switch off emotions? Emotions make us human, separate us from animals. Emotions needed in moral dilemmas

Is there any such thing as an action that does not have an ulterior motive?

Too generalised?

Cold and inhuman basis for morality: morals based on love and compassion not classed as moral e.g. a person giving to charity out if compassion is not doing a virtuous thing because not out of sense of duty.

9.

Can duties by wrong and evil e.g. Hitler

Categorical imperative: To rigid

Meant to be deontological but isn't the question what happens in everyone did this universally looking at end results?

Are consequences really irrelevant?

What if your duty cannot be universalised?

Hard to put into practise in actual situations