Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
Deontology: the Ethics of Duty
When it comes to Moral theories we have to understand what Immanuel Kant has written on .
The concept of the “good will”
The concept of duty
Three principles
The Categorical Imperative
The Hypothetical Imperative
Autonomy and Heteronomy of will
Kant on the concept of respect
Contemporary Deontologists
The concept of the “good will” and Duty
An action has moral worth only when performed by an agent who possesses a good will An agent has a good will only if moral obligation based on a universally valid norm is the action’s sole motive
When it comes to the concept of duty, Kant writes that all persons must act not only in accordance with, but for the sake of, obligation
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There must be an objective principle underlying willing, one that all rational agents would accept
Categorical Imperative
According to Kant this is simply the supreme principle or moral law. Furthermore, he explains that every moral agent recognizes whenever accepting an action as morally obligatory. The main question arises here is Why is the categorical imperative “imperative”? Kant’s answer to that is first, human beings are imperfect creatures and hence need rules imposed upon and second, these rules enjoin us to do or not to do something thus we conceive them as necessitating our action
“Act only in such a way in which the maxim of action can be rationally willed as a universal law”. But this requires unconditional conformity by all rational beings, regardless of circumstances and, it Is unconditional and applicable at all times
Hypothetical Imperative
Kants description to this one is illustrated in the following example: “If I want to obtain e, then I must obtain means m.” In other words it says that “If I want to buy a house, then I must work hard to make enough money for a down