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United States Military Academy's Honor Code

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1. Introduction
The United States Military Academy is an institution that prides itself on its leadership development. An important aspect of developing second lieutenants is developing “leaders of character who internalize the ideals of Duty, Honor, Country and the Army Ethics” (Gold Book 4). This character and moral development starts with the Cadet Honor Code. The United States Military Academy’s Honor Code states “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do.” In this paper, I will argue that Kant’s moral theory supports the first three tenets of the Honor Code when strictly interpreted. However, when applying Kant’s theory to the Honor Code as we practice, Kant cannot morally justify social tact. Additionally, I will show …show more content…

Honor Code and Kant’s Moral Theory
It is important to define the two variations of the Honor Code before analyzing it through a Kantian lens- “strictly written” and “as practiced”. Strictly written is a literal interpretation of the Honor Code, while as practiced allows for the exception of social tact. This means that a person is allowed to lie in circumstances that “are designed to spare the feeling of others” (USCC PAM 1-8). Examples of social tact include complementing a meal you do not like and telling someone their dress looks nice even when it does not.
Before we can analyze the Honor Code, we must understands Kant’s moral theory. Kantianism can be broken down into two main categorical imperatives, the formula of universal law and the formula of end in itself. Kant’s categorical imperatives provide a way for us to analyze the morality of different maxims (motives for actions). The formula of universal law states that, “I out never to act except in such a way that I can also will that maximum should become a universal law” (Kant I 99). More colloquially, Kant is saying that you must be able to imagine and live in a world where this maxim is universalized. Kant’s second categorical imperative, the formula of end in itself, states that you should never treat others (including yourself) as a mere means, but always as ends in themselves. It is important to differentiate mere means and means. Mere means is when an individual uses someone as a tool for their own goals without …show more content…

Application of Kant’s Moral Theory: Lying, Cheating, and Stealing
Now that we have defined Kant’s moral theory, and understand that if a maxim passes one of the categorical imperatives, it passes both of them, we can apply Kant’s theory to the four parts of the honor code. In this section, I will briefly apply Kant’s theory to lying, cheating, and stealing because they are the easiest to digest. I will spend the majority of the paper focusing on the toleration clause of the Honor Code since it is the most difficult to apply and it is the most problematic to Kant’s moral theory.
Kant would argue that lying in any circumstance is immoral. Thus, Kant would approve of the strictly written Honor Code over the as practiced Honor Code. Initially social tact may pass the formula of universal law, however, under strict logical scrutiny it fails. An individual might be able to conceptualize and live in a universe where social tact was practiced. However, it is hard to objectively establish in what situations it is right to spare someone’s feelings and in what situations it is right to tell the truth. Additionally, it is hard to draw the line when social tact is sparing someone’s feeling or hurting him or her in the end. For example, if Sally’s mom does not know her meatloaf is terrible, how will she improve her cooking? If Joey does not fit into his shirt and you do not tell him the truth, how is he going to deal with the bullying he gets in public? In terms of the formula of ends

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