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Immanuel Kant On Abortion

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Abortion is a topical issue in the world today. The battle of ethics that has begun between the pro- life and pro- choice campaigners has sparked a thought. Is it really and truly a woman’s choice to decide what she does with her body? .The underlying basis to the many arguments that fall within this category that “a woman has the right to control her own body” is that it would be unfair to the mother to force her to carry her unborn child to term. Therefore, it should be her decision alone to decide whether or not the foetus in her body lives or dies. But in truth it is not her decision alone. She must deal with the ever growing shame that is placed on her. The negative stigma that surrounds the act of abortion has haunted many women in the …show more content…

Kant's ethics are founded on his view of rationality as the ultimate good and his belief that all people are fundamentally rational beings. According to Kant, all behaviours and actions are done by people simply because they are the right things to do. Second, people do things based on whether it is moral rather than on any purposes. Kant would believe that an abortion is morally incorrect because it is not right to kill a person and it is considered as a murder under any circumstances.Kant believes that aborted babies are losing out on the opportunity of achieving Summum bonum(the highest good). The act of killing a life as well as any future possibilities of contribution for that person in their life .Kant believes in the santity of life as he considers each human as individual and highest point of intelligence .human life is sacred and deserves respect therefore abortion in kants view is wrong as life starts from conception. Kant saw that peoples actions were based on an end result .He proposed a shift in peoples thinking. Instead of using people to achieve your goals , make your goals to serve others. Kant believes in the sovereignty of reason . that there is an absolute wrong and a n absolute right and murder ,what abortion is deemed under kants law, is wrong. “The question the consistency of one who holds that abortion is permissible but infanticide is wrong. But let us see whether you are consistent. If it would have been wrong for your parents to have aborted you, wouldn't it have been equally wrong for your parents not to have conceived you? The result would have been the same - there would be no YOU!” (Gensler, 1986). This question is posed to a believer in Kantian ethics this in itself

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In “A Defense of Abortion,” Judith Thomson argues with a unique approach regarding the topic of abortion. For the purpose of the argument, Thomas agrees to go against her belief and constructs an argument based on the idea that the fetus is a person at conception. She then formulates her arguments concerning that the right to life is not an absolute right. There are certain situations where abortion is morally permissible. She believes that the fetus’s right to life does not outweigh the right for the woman to control what happens to her own body.

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Abortion is not only a fluctuating concept in our society, but an ethical and emotional debate, as well. The image I have chosen presents concepts from a cultural and historical background, as well as presents an ethical, emotional, and logical appeal to the audience. The debate about abortion has simply been overblown and exhausted. The truth of the matter is, abortion is murder. Ending a life, whether innocent or guilty, is murder.

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In The Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), the great Western thinker Immanuel Kant outlines some of his thoughts on some of the most fundamental of moral concepts, laying the groundwork for many future philosophers and students of ethics. Kant's ideas are, however, fairly challenging, both to modern-day readers of his works and to the thinkers of Kant's time that relied on contemporary utilitarian and hedonistic theories, or on objective good lists. Kant refutes these theories by promoting the examiniation of the act, rather than the consequences of the act, or the intentions behind it. Kant's sterile rejection of consequential pleasure, pain, or any motivation to do good in determining the moral worth of an act is controversial.

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“Kant's criticisms of utilitarianism have become famous enough to warrant some separate discussion. Utilitarian moral theories evaluate the moral worth of action on the basis of happiness that is produced by an action.” “The utilitarian theories are driven by the merely contingent inclination in humans for pleasure and happiness, not by the universal moral law dictated by reason.” “His ethical theory has been as influential as, if not more influential than, his work in epistemology and metaphysics. Most of Kant's work on ethics is presented in two works.

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To get a better understanding of Kant, his categorical imperative and Formula of Universal Law, let’s examine a scenario. A young women (under 18) forgets to use precaution during sex and ultimately ends up being pregnant. She goes to the hospital and aborts her fetus just because she is too young to have a child. Did the woman do the right thing? Kant would say no here.

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The author uses the works and views of current Kantians, Barbara Herman, Allen Wood, and Christine Korsgaard to connect to Kant’s work in different ways. He used Herman’s work and her ‘Middle Theory’ and how she uses Kant’s work of moral principles and virtue ethical considerations of

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Although Immanuel Kant rejects Utilitarianism, his insights are relevant to the issue of ethics in terms of protecting an individual’s rights. Kant fundamentally believes that human

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Immanuel Kant’s humanity formulation of the categorical imperative asserts that one should “act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never as a mere means, but always at the same time as an end.” In Kant’s humanity formulation, humanity is all persons, mere means is using a person a “tool” without dignity and respect, and as an end means treating a person with dignity and respect. The conditions of the contract made between William and Elizabeth Stern and Mary Beth Whitehead are not morally permissible in Kant’s ethical theory because such a contract does not respect the dignity of the baby. The contact does not respect the dignity of the baby because it treats her as a mere

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In the first half of my essay I shall present and discuss the advice that Kant would offer to a doctor, using his Formula of the Universal Law and Formula of Humanity. I will be explaining what each formula aims to show and how they relate to the possible choices the doctor has. From there, I will discuss whether the two formulas produce the same moral verdict and examine the potential connections between the formulas that make the similar moral verdicts possible. In these next few paragraphs, I will be explaining what the Formula of the Universal Law and Formula of Humanity are, then describe the type of advice Kant would offer based off these formulas.

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The debate whether abortion is morally permissible or not permissible is commonly discussed between the considerations of the status of a fetus and ones virtue theory. A widely recognized theory of pro-choice advocates can be thought to be that their ethical view is that fetus’s merely are not humans because they lack the right to life since they believe a fetus does not obtain any sort of mental functions or capability of feelings. Although this may be true in some cases it is not in all so explaining the wrongness of killing, between the common debates whether a fetus does or does not obtain human hood, should be illustrated in a way of a virtuous theory. The wrongness of killing is explained by what the person or fetus is deprived of, such as their right to life; not by means of a heart beat or function of one’s body, but by the fact that it takes their ability of potentially growing into a person to have the same human characteristics as we do.

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The counterexample used to contradict Kant’s “universality principle” should nullify the rational appeal of the Categorical Imperative for any individual who holds the belief that the preservation of human life is superior to ensuring that actions are applicable in any given circumstance. The example used in association with Kant’s second definition for the Categorical Imperative demonstrates issues caused by ambiguity. Kant does not aptly defines what it means for a person to be a

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