Kant’s Ethics

Kant’s quotes are from FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS

Kant offers A Deontological Approach to Ethics

• Actions have intrinsic moral worth regardless of consequences.

• Duty based.

• Good actions derive their value from adherence to moral laws, rules or principles.

Kant’s Ethics

• For Kant it is not so much a matter of following rules just because they are rules, but

• It is important that the moral rules are rationally justifiable.

Check this out (a treat from the web)

The Will

• Kant starts with the notion of a will that is free.

• The object is to create a good will.

Good Will•“Nothing in the world‑indeed nothing even beyond the world‑‑can

•possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification

•except a GOOD WILL. “• from FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS

Duty

“Duty is the necessity to do an action from respect for law”FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS

“Moral Worth Depends on Principle That Guides The Will

Not On The Consequences”• “Its moral value, • therefore, does not depend upon the realization of

the object of • the action but merely on the principle of the

volition by which the• action is done irrespective of the objects of the

faculty of desire.”• FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE

METAPHYSICS OF MORALS •

Where Do We Find The Principle?

• Through Reason

• Utilizing The Categorical Imperative

Imperatives

• Reason commands the Will

• The Will is Practical Reason

• Formulas For Commands of Reason are called Imperatives

• They take one of two forms:

• Hypothetical -- If … then…..

• Categorical …. Universal …. Must DO

Which would be the imperative of morality?

• Not the Hypothetical • ` an action is good to some purpose…’ • Categorical• `… declares the action to be itself

objectively necessary without making any reference to any end in view…’

• FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS

One Categorical Imperative

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

Duty to Obey, regardless of consequences

• Who is bound by this duty?• `…Duty is the practical unconditional

necessity of action: it must, therefore, hold for all rational beings (to which alone an imperative can apply), and only for that reason can it be a law for all human wills.’

• FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS

Huh????

• One must be able to rationally establish that all other rational beings must always do this sort of action as a matter of moral course.

• Regardless of the consequences.• If one breaks a moral law, one owns the

consequences.• If one obeys a moral law, and negative

consequences result, it is not her fault.

Do the right thing

• You must do the right thing for the right reason.

• You recognize it as a moral law.

• It is your duty to obey the law out of reverence, deep respect for it.

Let us try it out

• We need a maxim

• Can we rationally establish that all other rational beings must always do this sort of action as a matter of moral course?

• If so, It is a moral law

• It is our duty to obey out of reverence for the moral law.

What counts???

• Rational beings • Ends in themselves

• Kant offers his Practical Imperative:• `Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your

own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only.”

• FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS

The Practical Imperative

• Kant thinks that this is another way to express the Categorical Imperative.

• Because humans are rational and can choose and take responsibility, it is unethical to ignore their rational autonomy and just treat them like a tool for our own satisfaction.

• We must respect their ability to make their own decisions and reap whatever benefits or punishments that follow.