ipl-logo

Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative

1118 Words5 Pages

Immanuel Kant was an significant leader in the development of modern philosophy, formulating unique inputs and contributions. Kant constantly pleaded that “the moral worth of an action is to be judged not by its consequences but by the nature of the maxim or principle that motivated the action” (Cahn and Markie, 314). When looking at Kant’s point of view and ideology, he was a leader in deontology believing the theory of the ‘right’. Kant believed that humans of this world should do the right thing for the right reason, instead of doing things for the following consequences or the rewards afterwards. When dissecting Kant’s studies, he believed in the supreme moral principle that is called the Categorical Imperative. This means that all leading actions are morally correct and acceptable if performed as a duty. The categorical …show more content…

1). The theory suggests that the action must be based solely on the reason and moral alone. The categorical imperative has many key points that are crucial for explaining who Kant would favor for giving to charity. By discussing the crucial formulations like the universal law, the humanity formula, and the Kingdom of ends, Kant would praise the person that is giving to charity because she truly enjoys doing so. My first argument regarding this subject would be that the proposed statement follows all concepts of the Universal law. As a recap, the proposed statement was that the person gives to charity because she truly

Show More
Related

Angela Davis Abolition Democracy Analysis

596 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

DBQ: The Protestant Reformation

1368 Words | 6 Pages

Charles decided to distinguish who to give alms to in order to save money, but still give to those “deserving”. Similarly, Juan Luis Vives a Spanish humanist wrote how poor people “are driven to robbery” and other fiendish acts, and “that [Europeans] have a duty to charity” to help these impoverished people out (Document 1). Vives continues by saying how people are uncertain if they should give “because their good intention is embarrassed by the great number” or “where first or most effectively” to give their money to.

Read More

Comparing Kant's Categorical Imperative And John Stuart Mill

507 Words | 3 Pages

Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative and John Stuart Mill’s view of utilitarianism are two very different approaches to ethics and morals. In fact, they are the opposite of one another. Kant’s view of ethics is an ethics of pure reason- a deontological theory of ethics. He stresses that feelings and emotions should have no part in ethics because they are unreliable, changeable, and uncertain. He states that ethical principles must be universal and that ethics are distinctively human.

Read More

Kant's Categorical Imperative

975 Words | 4 Pages

1. • ethical, social, and political issues are nearly related. • ethical issues stand up to people who must pick an approach, regularly in a circumstance in which two or more moral standards are in clash (a predicament). • social issues spring from moral issues as social orders create desires in people about the right blueprint. • political issues spring from social clash and are mostly concerned with utilizing laws that endorse conduct to make circumstances in which people act effectively.

Read More

Kant And Mill Similarities

1385 Words | 6 Pages

Where our choices should include everyone, as universal to be considered moral or immoral. His choice would be based on the common sense rather than what one feels on the time on having to choose. Kant believes in continuacion of life, where maintaining life is a moral action. In Rescue I we have to see who really is in danger, where all 6 people are in danger, how can you morally save five and kill one. We will have to follow one of the two wills which are autonomous: morality of respect to us having free will and heteronomous: respecting others morality.

Read More

Kant's Categorical Imperative

223 Words | 1 Pages

Ruining someone else’s life because it would simplify mine is not something I can both do, and still expect to sleep at night. For this reason, I support Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Kant claims that it is not the consequences of an action that determines its moral worth, but the maxim behind the action (Kant 105). If my decision to leave an innocent man alone leads to unrest in the city, that has no bearing on the moral worth of my action. If I were to convict this man, even if it were to lead to the favorable result of a peaceful city, I would still have to battle with my corrupted maxim and overwhelming guilt.

Read More

Ethical Theory Of Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative

890 Words | 4 Pages

The end does not justify the means. This was the principal ethical theory of Immanuel Kant and made up his ‘Categorical Imperative’, a deontological argument which showcased how certain actions are fundamentally wrong, such as murder, lying or torture and can therefore, never be justified. Contrastingly a utilitarian would claim that the ends do in fact justify the means and would enact a focus on outcomes in deciding whether or not an action is morally permissible. In 2002 Jakob Von Metzler, a boy of just twelve years, was kidnapped and a police officer threatened the kidnapper, Magnus Gafgen, with torture in an attempt to find and save the child. Gafgen told the officer that he had killed the boy and then disclosed the location of the body.

Read More

Essay On Divine Command Theory

1218 Words | 5 Pages

The last theory is Aristotle’s virtue ethics which states that we should move from the concern towards good action and to focus on the concern with good character. This paper argues that Aristotle’s virtue ethics is better than the other ethical theories. The divine command theory says that what is morally right and what is morally wrong is determined by God and God alone. People who follow the divine command theory believe that God is the creator of all things, therefore, he must also be the creator of morally right and wrong acts.

Read More

Adolf Eichmann And Kant's Ethical Theory

740 Words | 3 Pages

Otto Adolf Eichmann was one of the most important members of the Nazi Party who was accused of crimes against the Jewish people and humanity during World War 2. After the war, he went to Argentina to escape prosecution but was captured there by Israeli agents and was transferred to Israel to be judged. During the trial, Eichmann’s defense was based on Kant’s duty-based ethical theory and categorical Imperative since he overstated many times that he was only following orders. By enouncing Kantian ethical theory, Eichmann acquitted himself from moral guilt. Kant’s categorical imperative as known as The Formula Of The End

Read More

What Makes Right Acts Right Analysis

728 Words | 3 Pages

Ross’s moral theory can be thought of as a compromise between utilitarianism and Kantianiasm. Even though Ross applauds the idea of benevolence in utilitarianism and the importance of justice, he disapproved of maximizing happiness as the main duty and stating that the moral rules were absolute. The basis of Ross’s moral theory lies in the concept of prima facie; the “duty” performed based on the relationship between certain individuals. Ross means that in any situation the individual needs to decide which relationship is most important to them at that time when making decisions. His main argument consists of: 1.

Read More

Peter Singer's Argument For Suffocating Children

1059 Words | 5 Pages

So it appears that utilizing moral arguments, provocative thought investigations, lighting up cases, and contextual analyses of magnanimous giving; author demonstrates that our present reaction to world poverty is deficient as well as ethically faulty. Singer battles that we have to change our perspectives of what is included in carrying on with a moral life. To help us have

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Kant's Categorical Imperative

1222 Words | 5 Pages

I hope to convince the reader that Kant’s Categorical Imperative is the better way to live a morally conscious life and more practical to follow as well. First I will briefly describe both Kant’s and Mill’s principles. Then I will go on to explain the advantages and disadvantages of both. Finally, I hope to provide a counterargument for some of Kant’s Categorical Imperatives downfalls. Kant states the Categorical Imperative as: "Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will and general natural law."

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Deontological Ethics

1536 Words | 7 Pages

The distinction between right and wrong has been a matter of discussion for centuries, whether expressed through philosophical essays, social organisation or artistic creation. Deontological ethics is a philosophical theory which dissects acts into right and wrong on the basis of the adherence of an act to a specific rule. One of the many formulations of deontology is Kantianism, a view introduced by Immanuel Kant, which argues that the basis for morality are motives for one’s action rather than the consequences of it and searches a justification for one’s duty to behave in a certain manner. One of the critiques or counter positions of Kant’s ethics is Sartrean existentialism as it denies the possibility of an absolute moral system and focuses on the individual morality rather than social one and bases on one’s commitment to his chosen values. Yet drawing parallels between the two positions is far from impossible, despite Sartre’s strong opposition to Kantian moral theory.

Read More

Utilitarianism In Nursing Ethics

1374 Words | 6 Pages

Hypothetical imperatives are duties that people ought to observe if certain ends are to be achieved. Categorical imperatives are the absolute and universal laws that guide moral actions. Kant believed that moral actions must be based on unconditional reasoning. Kant’s deontological principles of hypothetical imperatives and categorical imperatives have significantly influenced the medical field.

Read More

Immanuel Kant's Theory Of Utilitarianism

1228 Words | 5 Pages

Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill are two of the most notable philosophers in normative ethics. This branch of ethics is based on moral standards that determine what is considered morally right and wrong. This paper will focus on Immanuel Kant’s theory of deontology and J.S. Mill’s theory of utilitarianism. While Mill takes a consequentialist approach, focused on the belief that actions are right if they are for the benefit of a majority, Kant is solely concerned with the nature of duty and obligation, regardless of the outcome. This paper will also reveal that Kantian ethics, in my opinion, is a better moral law to follow compared to the utilitarian position.

Read More

More about Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative

Related Topics

Open Document