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Immanuel Kant's Groundwork Of The Metaphysics Of Morality

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Dimitris Lykouris, Katarina Mihaljević, Mats Lodenstijn Ethics (700211) hand-out seminar October 8th, 2014 Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) Immanuel Kant Introduction In this paper we will try to introduce the main idea as presented in chosen chapters of Kant's work. For better understanding, it is important to note that his line of argumentation does not start with main hypothesis which is further explicated, rather, Kant uses analytical a priori method (tries to see what follows from the concepts such as good will, duty etc.) and tries to establish the justification of Categorical Imperative. Nevertheless, we will start with the main hypothesis, from where we will turn to the main concepts and divisions behind it. Hypothesis …show more content…

Circumstances (other human beings) are to be treated as an end in themselves. Correctness of moral judgements rests on the notion whether it complies with CI which can be formulated: Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. The notion of Good Will “It is impossible to conceive anything at all in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good without qualification, except a good will” (Kant, 1785) Notion of good will can be understood as without limitations if we try to compare it with other human qualities (talents of the minds, qualities of temperament, gifts of fortune) which, although good, are faced with limitations and miss-usage while good will, on the other hand, represents a good in itself. The notion of Duty Duties are the so called obligations of the good will. We can distinguish actions in three ways according to the notion of duty: • A person acts clearly without duty or in contrary to …show more content…

The hypothetical and categorical imperative Notion of imperative can be divided in hypothetical and categorical. Hypothetical imperative proposes an action as necessary merely because it serves as the means to attain the desired ends. It can vary from person to person and therefore, cannot be seen as a universal law. Important: • All human beings are striving towards attaining happiness as an ultimate goal. • Human beings are different and therefore their means and judgements are different. • In order to find a universal law of moral judgement, we have to employ our rational thinking, which is universal to all human beings. From this follows the categorical imperative which serves as absolute, unconditional law that entails that doing/omitting something would be good in itself (look up at good will, A/N). For example: you ought not to kill others. This imperative applies regardless of circumstances. Formulations of categorical imperative Categorical imperative can be formulated in various ways, by putting an emphasis

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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.

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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.

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Categorical Imperative and Duties Kant divides duties into two groups- duties towards others and duties towards self. They are further subdivided into strict and meritorious duties. Lets consider these duties one by one in light of Categorical Imperative. Strict Duties to others : Consider a person is in need of money.

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Kant’s ethics is considered as one the most important non-consequentialist ethical system in 18th century. Kant’s ethics was formulated on the basis of two important principles: goodwill and the categorical imperative. According to research conducted by Terrence (Irwin, 2009), Kant began to construct his ethical theory with a statement that is one of the most memorable in his writing: “It is possible to conceive anything at all in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good without qualification, except good will” . Good will can be defined as “ the uniquely human capacity to act from principle” (Shaw et al., 2009 ,p.72). The humanitarian impulse behind emergency interventions that people engage in is an example of good will ( Shaw, 2009).

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Deontology is portrayed as the investigation of the way of duty, obligation and commitment. The ethical quality of an activity depends on good intention, which is characterized by its adherence to a rule or set of guidelines. Such a rule is known as a maxim and if a man wills a maxim to wind up noticeably as a general or universal law with the end goal that everybody in any circumstance ought to maintain this adage, it is judged to be ethically or morally right. Immanuel Kant in his, 'Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, gives the focal idea of Kant's deontological reasoning. The downright basic incorporates three definitions that are utilized to judge the ethical pertinence of any goal or obligation.

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The first one mentions a man who is considering taking his own life. He says, “A man feels sick of his life as the result of a mounting series of misfortunes that has reduced him to hopelessness, but he still possesses enough of his reason to ask himself whether it would not be contrary to his duty to himself to take his own life,” (Kant, 516). Kant states that in this instance, “The maxim therefore could not possibly be a general law of nature and thus ut wholly contradicts the supreme principle of all duty,” (Kant, 516). The second scenario mentions a man contemplating borrowing money from someone, knowing he will never be able to repay the debt. Kant states, “I then see immediately that this maxim can never qualify as a self-consistent universal law of nature, but must necessarily contradict itself,” (Kant, 516).

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Kant believes that moral laws are not contingent on characteristics or inclinations, but must apply to anyone with rational thought. By saying that it should be “absolutely necessary” he implies that moral principles are strict and not flexible. This reinforces his belief in the obedience needed for moral principles, which are not compatible with the subjectiveness of human nature. Further on, Kant argues that experiences, which are subject to change, cannot be the basis of moral principles, which he calls “apodictic laws.” He thinks that if moral laws were based solely on empirical observations of humanity, they would not be universally applicable to all rational beings.

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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.

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Kant emphasizes that only the law and pure respect for the law should determine the will. However, when taken in context with his other remarks in the Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, it is unclear how the law can be anything other than arbitrary. Kant claims that results do not matter as it is the will that determines morality. This means that no matter the law, following it is the moral thing to do. This raises significant problems.

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As I began reading Kant’s Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant claims that the NLF of the CI tests for moral worth. In the second section of the book, Kant begins to explain the categorical imperative as the opposite of as hypothetical imperative identifying situations for which each imperative would fall. Explaining that a hypothetical imperative is only followed in certain situations as a means to something else while the CI is followed unconditionally no matter the situation “as good in itself” and to its own end. In this paper, I intend to show what the NLF has to do with testing moral worth and how the criteria are a formidable way to judge morality. I plan on completing this by quoting and analyzing relative information on the

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They are good in moderation within a certain medium. Without good will it is difficult to obtain the ultimate good of rational beings, happiness (4:394). However, Kant argues that good will itself is not good based off what it produces in the end but how it’s intended to be use by the

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One must obey these commands in all situations regardless of wants and desires. Under the categorical imperative, actions are genuinely right if they are undertaken for the sake of duty alone. Kant wrote that everyone belonging to the kingdom has duties or specific obligations of a good will that are either perfect or imperfect. Perfect duties are those that must be followed without any exceptions. Kant lists these perfect duties as do not tell a lie, do not kill yourself, and do not break a promise.

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Although change can be challenging, there are ways to achieve many things similarly through different paths in life. Exploring brings happiness to those individuals who have the patience and individuality to lead a pathway. In the poem, “The Road Not Taken” written by Robert Frost, it introduces a traveler who waits to proceed with a road that will soon make a difference towards his future. Not only does he have patience, the narrator provides detail on the way each road looks along the way. The idea of this poem was to provide examples of what life would become if a person decides to make a change in life through imagery, symbolism, and personification.

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In addition to that, Kant ethics theory argues that to will is to choose, voluntarily, to act in that way but a good will is the product of its relationship to duty. Duty brings the idea of actions we are obliged to perform. Those duties can either be moral or not moral. Moral actions that we perform are synonym of good will because they are voluntary as the Kantian ethical quotes “We ought to do” a good will is the primary steps for an ethical life and without it our actions cannot have moral worth and the duty we are obliged to perform makes us think of those actions. And those actions must be done from duty to have any

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Kant believes that most people know right from wrong; the problem most people have is not in knowing what is morally, but in doing it. Kant also argued that rightness or wrongness of particular acts is determined by rules; these rules could be determined by his principle of universalizability. He also argued reason require not only that moral duties be universal but also absolutely binding. For instance, when lying is the only option to save someone’s life, still we shall not lie for it is morally wrong to lie. Kant introduced categorical imperative which states that people ought to do something regardless of the consequences.

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