ipl-logo

Discussing The Metaphysics Of Kant's Moral Law

1476 Words6 Pages

Iqra Polani
PHIL 130
Professor Park
31 March 2017
Paper 2: Discussing Kant’s Moral Law In Immanuel Kant’s The Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, he works to establish a moral philosophy that he considers to be pure due to its separation from all things empirical. Kant creates a distinction between behavior and reasons or motivations for actions in his work. As a deontological (duty-based) philosopher, Kant believes that morality is based on duty and respect. He emphasizes rationality as the only significant fact relevant to morality. His formulation of the categorical imperative serves to launch his argument regarding what it means to be truly moral and what it takes to universalize a moral law.
The aim of Kant’s work was to establish …show more content…

Fundamentally, actions done based upon inclinations have no true moral worth. A sense of duty is based upon good will, which is unchanging. Kant provides four cases to illustrate the relationship between duty and inclination. If an action is clearly inconsistent with duty, it is not moral. An example of this case would be if someone were to randomly kill an innocent person. If an action conforms with duty, but is done for prudential reasons, it is not moral. Kant’s example of this is in the case of the cautious shopkeeper does not overcharge people not because it’s the moral thing to do, but rather because he wants to maximize his own profits—a decision based on empirical reasons. If an action conforms with duty, but is done out of inclination, it cannot be considered moral. The example Kant provides is through the case of the sympathetic philanthropist. Being generous or beneficent can only be considered if the action is done out of morality, not inclination. If someone likes to do volunteer work to help the impoverished because they enjoy it, when they are volunteering, they are actually doing it out of self-interest (inclination) rather than for the purpose of being moral. It is merely a coincidence that their inclinations align with what can be normally considered morally correct. Kant’s second proposition states that moral worth is derived from the maxim by which it’s determined, rather than from the …show more content…

This formulation basically states that you should respect humanity as an end. He says that you should “not merely [treat others] as a means,” (Kant 491) by which he means that you should not treat others as a tool or object to get what you want. Rather, you should respect other people as rational beings that are valuable and do not simply exist for your use. People should always be treated as an end, and never as only a means. Kant considers this formulation to be a restatement of his first principle because it goes along with his reasoning for why it is wrong to follow a maxim that cannot serve as a universal

Show More
Related

Utilitarianism And Kantian Ethics

833 Words | 4 Pages

Kantians believe that the rightness or wrongness of an action does not depend on the consequences, but on whether they fulfill a duty. They must act in a way that will produce the greatest overall amount of good in the world. In this view there is no obligation to give money to a homeless person, but it is the right thing to do. Kant’s supreme moral principle is the categorical imperative. The categorical imperative is a moral law that is unconditional for all agents because of intrinsic value.

Read More

On A Supposed Right To Lie From Altruistic Motives Analysis

180 Words | 1 Pages

In his brief essay, “On a Supposed Right to Lie from Altruistic Motives”, Immanuel Kant emphasizes how essential it is to be truthful and how our duty to be truthful outweighs any other duties we have to ourselves to ourselves or to humanity. Altruistic can be described as a genuinely moral act. People who are altruistic take action for the benefit of others and deem other people’s interests more important than their own interests. Kant believes that people should always do what is right, no matter what the outcome holds. I affirm that Kant believes praising truthfulness above all other duties because he believes it is morally wrong to hurt the dignity of others.

Read More

Groundwork For The Metaphysics Of Morals By Immanuel Kant

477 Words | 2 Pages

The third scenario is a man deciding whether or not to cultivate his given talents and the fourth discusses a man deciding to help others in need or not. As the fourth scenario is concluded Kant states, “We must be able to will that a maxim of our action should become a universal law – that is the authoritative model for moral judging of action generally, (Kant,

Read More

Grounding For The Metaphysics Of Morals Summary

1514 Words | 7 Pages

In the second section, he mentions that philosophers before him have spoken of the “frailty and impurity” of human nature. Kant goes on to say how reason should legislate for human nature, but at that time it was only used to look after the interest of inclinations. He expresses how he wishes that reason, instead of human nature, had a more vital role when discussing morality. Furthermore, he explains that “moral law is of such widespread significance that it must hold not merely for men but for all rational beings generally, and it must hold not merely under contingent conditions and with exceptions, but it should be absolutely necessary.” In this quote, Kant emphasizes the absolute and universal nature of moral law, and how moral principles are not limited to specific people or circumstances but apply to all rational beings equally.

Read More

Groundwork For The Metaphysics Of Morals

328 Words | 2 Pages

Kant lays the groundwork for his moral theory in Chapter 2 of Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, emphasizing the idea of the categorical imperative. Kant argues that this imperative functions as the greatest moral standard, requiring people to act solely in conformity with principles that are able to be agreed upon by all. Kant's application of the categorical imperative leads him to oppose suicide. He contends that suicide lacks moral justification since it diminishes a person to nothing more than a tool, disregarding the intrinsic worth and dignity of thinking people. According to Kant, rational agents have inherent value and should be viewed as ends in and of themselves.

Read More

Groundwork For Metaphysic Of Morals By Immanuel Kant

561 Words | 3 Pages

Immanuel Kant, a renowned philosopher, reflected upon the fundamental question of ethics concerning what makes a moral action wrong or right. In the “Groundwork for Metaphysic of Morals” by Kant, he claims that the only thing good is without qualification is “the good will.” Kant’s idea/belief highlights the essence of moral intentions and duty over self-interest or external factors, but it overlooks the importance of outcomes and consequences in determining moral goodness. His ideology sparks philosophical discourse, which leads to varied ethical perspectives regarding moral intention versus the outcomes of determining moral goodness. According to Kant, an act is considered good if done from moral duty and is not influenced by personal desires or external factors.

Read More

Summary Of Kant's Categorical Imperative

726 Words | 3 Pages

Kant’s second formulation of Categorical Imperative by using the language of means and ends summed is basically do not use people. Kant states “Always treat people as ends in themselves and never merely as a means to an end.” which basically means let people make their own informed decisions. Do not use others to get what you want. Each persons has the right to make rational informed decisions about our own life (Class notes, Module 05, Pg 2).

Read More

Kantianism And Deontological Ethics

1230 Words | 5 Pages

This is often confused with the golden rule of “treat others as you yourself would like to be treated.” However in Kantianism the rule is “treat people as they ought to be treated” (Burnor, 162). It then becomes ones duty to treat people as they ought to be treated and not base decisions on any one individual’s experiences. Kantianism is against “a posteriori” or actions that come from experience. As experiences are not universal and would create inconsistencies among people making moral choices, Kant is against making choices dependent on experiences.

Read More

Categorical Imperative Kant

321 Words | 2 Pages

Kant formulated an ethical standard through which to judge maxims and define morality. Kant’s Speaks about the categorical imperative, which is an imperative that says some action is required in and of itself, a duty. The categorical imperative judge’s maxims as so, do things in which you would want what you’re doing to become universal law.

Read More

Hume Vs Kant

2014 Words | 9 Pages

The first being that action has moral worth when done from duty and not from inclination (Kant, 12). Kant would continue to accept the moral praiseworthiness of my action as long as it stems from a sense of duty, not inclination. Following the first proposition, the second states that “an action done from duty has its moral worth, not in the purpose that is to be attained by it, but in the maxim according to which the action is determined” (Kant, 12-13). Finally, the last proposition states that “duty is the necessity of an action done out of respect for the law” (Kant, 13). Kant sums up his argument by saying that “the pre-eminent good which is called moral can consist in nothing but the representation of the law in itself, and such a representation can admittedly be found only in a rational being insofar as this representation...is the determining ground of the will”

Read More

Immanuel Kant Absolute

1435 Words | 6 Pages

These are hypothetical, and do not have absolute worth for all rational beings. The relevant imperative would then be one which “determines the will by means of representations of reason”, and which commands an action as “objectively necessary in itself, without reference to another end” (Kant 24-25). This categorical imperative is thus the ground of moral law, and Kant asserts that is it to “act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” (30). Three principles of action stem from the categorical

Read More

Kant's Necessary Evil

516 Words | 3 Pages

Kant felt very strongly about how people were supposed to act. According to the Categorical Imperative, he said, “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” (Rachels, 139). Since humans are so valuable, we need to treat them “as an end”. This means you need to treat them well; respect their rights, avoid harming them, and promote their welfare. To treat people “as an end” according to Kant is, “as beings who (can) contain in themselves the end of the very same action” (Rachels, 139).

Read More

Immanuel Kant's Theory Of Utilitarianism

1228 Words | 5 Pages

This is because the consequences of the utilitarian mentality can’t be applied in all situations due to the dangerous outcomes it can lead to. Kantian ethics is concerned about practical reason and motives rather than the consequences of the action. In most cases, the utilitarian will base their actions on what the best result is for the greatest number of people, while Kant argues that a goodwill “is good only through its willing” (Kant, 2008, p. 106). In fact, Kant argues that even “with the greatest effort it should yet achieve nothing, and only the good will should remain…yet would it, like a jewel, still shine by its own light as something which has its full value in itself. Its usefulness or fruitlessness can neither augment nor diminish this value” (Kant, 2008, p. 106).

Read More

Ethical Definition Essay

915 Words | 4 Pages

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant 1724-1804 stated: "So, act as to treat humanity, whether in thine own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end withal, never as a means only. This Kant’s second version of his Categorical Imperative it means we should never use a person as a tool or puppet to achieve our objectives. Humans have free will to choose how to live their lives, to make laws governing morality. Only people could judge value and value items in our environment, therefore, individuals have value. Every person should be a valued part of a society.

Read More

Immanuel Kant's Moral Theory Essay

871 Words | 4 Pages

If a person is acting in accordance with duty, they feel inclined to do something, not that it is their duty to do it. A person who is giving to others in accordance with duty, could possibly be doing it because everyone else is and they want to protect their reputation. This person would give to others for the recognition, to be praised or simply because everyone else is giving. A person who is giving in accordance with duty is likely doing it because they feel inclined to or for self-interested reasons. In the case of the philanthropists, both people that Kant describe are acting from duty.

Read More

More about Discussing The Metaphysics Of Kant's Moral Law

Related Topics

Open Document