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Groundwork For The Metaphysics Of Morals Summary

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In Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant does not presume to establish moral laws; he posits the basis for moral law itself. Through this process, Kant introduces the opposing concepts of heteronomy, laws provided externally for the individual, and autonomy, laws established via the application of reason. The implication arises that autonomy under Kant's definition is freedom, and that autonomy is a requisite for moral actions. To fully develop an understanding of this relationship it is crucial to deconstruct and integrate his notions of: will, duty, maxim, and imperative. Humans have the unique ability to perceive natural law, and imagine or will those forces to be different. This aforementioned will is what opens the one-way road …show more content…

The hypothetical imperative relies on a desired outcome: "If you want ____, you must do ____". Duty is removed from the hypothetical imperative. Categorical imperative carries far more nuance in Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, it takes on three different formulations in the text as moral law. Although these formulations are perhaps simply restating, individually, they provide unique insights into Kant's thinking. In the first formulation, Kant says "Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law" (Kant 421). The implication of this being that in order for an action to be moral why it is done must be able to be why it is done by anyone, anywhere, at any time. A clear example of this imperative comes when one considers lying. If one lies and presumes that lie to be moral, that lie must then be able to be made the universal law. If lying were the universal law one could not lie as lying relies on truth-telling as universal law to serve its function. In his second formulation, Kant states "Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply as a means." (Kant 429) The third formulation, referenced in the footnotes as the "formula of autonomy", is as follows: "... the idea of the will

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Angela Davis’ book Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture provides her critique on how today’s democracy is continually weakened by structures of oppression, such as slavery, reconstruction, and lynching. By utilizing her own experience and employing views from historical figures like Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Dubois, Davis examines the chain of racism, sexism, and political oppression. She speaks of the hidden moral and ethical issues that bring difference within people’s social situations. In the “Abolition Democracy” chapter, she describes the relationship between the production of law and violation of law demonstrated in the United States.

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Kant states universal laws that everyone should abide by and should never do like steal, cheat, or kill. This is a rule

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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.

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In Groundwork of the Metaphysics of morals, provides some example of where man a wants to waste his talents. On page 35, Kant explains in his third example that to find “himself a talent that by means of some cultivation could make him a useful human being in all sorts of respect”. Kant explains that talent should be wasted if it will bring a joyful situation. But one should not waste their talent if it will be pain to one self. Kant also questions his own talent and wonders if he is wasting his talent for not making it a reality.

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Arguing that since moral law is universal, it must follow that duties are moral requirements that are completely independent of personal interests and that acting dutiful adds moral worth to actions. Understanding that he cannot explicitly list out the moral actions of every particular circumstance, Kant draws on the concept of aiming to equate the maxim of an action to universal law. Vindicating this proposition, he provides the

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*This essay is to argue against Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative as the universal law; it should apply to all people at all times. This idea is known as the formula of universal law. One must ask oneself “should I act in a way that I could will that my maxim become a universal law?” The formula of humanity,

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If we expect others to keep their promises, then we are obligated to ours as well. The Formula of the End, “We should always treat humans solely as an ends, and never as a means to an end” meaning that a person cannot morally be used as an object. This formulation can have both a positive and negative impact. The Formula of Autonomy says that we should live by the rules in a community and we all respect each other. A place to where one must choose to act by maxims that imply absolute

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Explain what Kant means by the humanity and universal law versions of his categorical imperative.   According to Sandel’s lecture which type of moral reasoning does Kant use? Kant had two versions to his categorical imperative. The first

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According to Kant’s Deontological theory, it would be morally permissible to institute an opt-out policy for cadaveric organ donation. Kant’s Deontological theory is formulated from the Categorical Imperative (CI), also known as the Principle of Practical Reason. The CI is based on a fundamental principle that states that moral actions “ought” to be carried out if the intention behind that action is what is ‘right’. That is, moral actions are “discerned by reason”, regardless of the consequences that arise from the action. The principle also considers that such moral actions are imperative since human beings have desires, predispositions and deviate from being “perfectly rational”.

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Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who, similar to John Stuart Mill, created a modern ethical theory. Kant and Mill both believed in a bottom up ethics, which claims that human beings are the legislature of moral law. However, the views of these two philosophers were polar opposites. Kant believes that there is a difference between a right action and a moral action. He first illustrates that a moral action proceeds from duty, obligation or moral law.

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Kant’s various philosophical works and their contents are highly debated, and remain relevant in today’s society. As Kant’s discussion suggests, all humans the ability to follow the good will because of their ability to reason. However, one can suggest that some people are more inclined to follow the good will due to their individual traits. Kant proposes the categorical imperative that allows everyone to evaluate if their actions uphold the good will. Regardless of one’s position in the argument, it is apparent that moral law is applicable to all humans as rational beings, and therefore should be followed by all who possess the ability to reason.

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So even though we cannot have a definite answer to what our conscious tells us to do, we know it is telling us something. There is one problem though: Although humans know the difference between right and wrong, they may choose to disobey the moral code even if they know better. Another important statement Kant makes about the moral code is, “Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as means, but always at the same time as an end,” (Gaarder pg 331). Kant’s words of advice in this quotation sound similar to the golden rule: “treat others the way you would like to be treated”. This is an important value to hold onto in life because if you are kind

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Immanuel Kant designed ‘The Categorical Imperative’ theory which was associated with the fact that it was commanding us to practice our morals and desires in a specific way which was exercised through two rules. Kamm (2000) claims that these components were to ‘(1) treat persons as ends in themselves and (2) do not treat them as mere means’. Kamm is basically suggesting that we seek happiness of others, as that is morally right, however fulfill capacities of one’s own intellect. From following both of these we arrive at an imperative and it is categorical. Kant also discussed the importance of perfect and imperfect duties in relation to good morality between humans.

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First off, allow me to talk about moral skepticism. (scepticism as the author put it) A moral sceptic might be the sort of person who says "All this talk of morality is tripe," who rejects morality and will take no notice of it. (Rachels, 2010, p. 50) There are some people in this world who will take morality and toss it out the window, because to them morality is binding and judgemental to the point to where they think that it will control you. Hypothetical and Categorical imperatives are very interesting in their own unique way.

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The categorical imperative is formal, while the substance is decided by the person. The idea is that by a process of reasoning, one can check his intuitions and desires and see if they can become a general rule for moral behavior. Kant bases his theory on three main concepts: the good will, the duty and the law. The moral worth of an action is measured in its intention.

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