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.
Kantian Ethical theory is described and dictated solely based on logic at which no conditions can apply. The Theory is formulated on two categorical imperatives in which the first formulation is,” Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become universal law.” And the second formulation is,” Act so that you treat humanity
Kant also introduces the idea of categorical imperative: the idea that one can check the morality of an action based on whether or not the action can be followed universally and it does not use other humans as expendable objects. All in all, Kant provides a framework for thinking about moral actions as intention-based, universally-applicable, and humanely-respectable.
Kant argued that morality presented itself to human agents in the form of the categorical imperative and the argument for deontology. The categorical imperative states that a person must “Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”. This is based on the age old, “do unto others as you would have them unto you”. Kant argued a person must embrace that what they do is only alright if it is
. How do Virtue Theory, Deontological Theory, and Utilitarian Theory differ? How should a US Army officer apply them in making ethical decisions? Explain.
Utilitarian theory is when the ethical decisions of actions are dictated solely by the least amount of consequences or greater fulfillment. A better explanation would be “utilitarianism aims at a goal of greatest happiness (or the best consequence) and justifies any act that achieves that goal” (Shakil). When applied to the topic, the person wouldn’t leak information about a classified government surveillance program which violates constitutionally protected civil liberties because it would be considered ethical under utilitarian theory. This is because a person acting under utilitarian theory would look at the outcomes that could happen if the program continued or not. First and foremost, the continuation of the program would be based on the
Sometimes a friend has views that either do not agree with our own, or appear to not even be consistent with each other. In the case of Sarah and Jamie, utilitarian ethical standpoints are brought into question. Utilitarianism is “the doctrine that the rightness of actions is to be judged by their consequences” (Shafer-Landau 78, 2015). It is a form of consequentialism that examines the consequences of actions, and if those actions produce happiness and pleasure (overall, not just for one person) and minimizes the amount of suffering, then that action is correct and morally right. Typically to determine this, one would perform the Happiness Calculus for actions A and B, and whichever one produced the greatest amount of pleasure is the action
The final ethical theory is Kant’s deontology. Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who admire the stoics for their dedication to performing their duties and playing their part. He based his theory on duties, obligations, and rights. Its main focus is that everyone has an inherited right. It highlights the importance of respecting a person autonomy.
The main principle of utilitarianism is happiness. People who follow this theory strive to fulfill the “ultimate good”. The “ultimate good” is defined as ultimate pleasure with out any pain. It is said that the pleasure can be of any quantity and any quality, but pleasures that are weighted more important are put at a higher level than others that are below it. This ethical theory also states that if society would fully embrace utilitarianism then people would naturally realize their moral standing in the
Morality and Utilitarian In according to the article there are many arguments about the gun control in the United States, it means that it based utilitarian thought. Steve Sanetti, he is the founder of the National Shooting Sport Foundations he has a utilitarian thought. As explain the article this founder is grounded in the concept to contribution to overall happiness. It means that the morality is based in the greatest act that should be done if the individuals are considered those action are good for them.
For Kant, his ethics are grounded on reason and pure reason alone. It is a matter of a priori vs a posteriori. A priori is knowing the truth of the judgement, regardless of empirical view. An example of a priori would be that a single
In this reflection paper I will cover chapters topics from chapters four to six of the book entitled "Ethics, Theory and Contemporary Issues" by Barbara Mackinnon and Andrew Fiala. Equally important, I will give my ideas about some ethical theories and I will explain them from my point of view. This essay will focus more in Egoism from chapter 4 and Utilitarianism from chapter five. These topics interest me the most and I consider them important. Each of this chapter will have a short summary, but at the same time and more broa; I will provide examples that prove if I agree or disagree with a certain theory.
First of all, in some situations, Kant 's concept of duty may be perceived as unnecessary and Aristotle 's percept of happiness can seem more logical. For example, if we obey the traffic rules in our daily lives, for Kant, we should continue to obey the rules even if streets are empty and there are no cops anywhere but for Aristotle, if we will not harm anyone, we can even run a red light because it aims our own goods by saving our time. On the other hand, the concept of duty does not aim our own goods. To be clear, Kant claims that categorical imperative is derived from human dignity which is related to choosing our own actions. People decide to do or to be something and they find themselves in categorical imperatives.
Kant, I method to ethics is to shed lights on what humans are capable of doing which is necessarily our motives and intentions, we cannot be entirely responsible for our actions because it might be effected by accidental circumstances. However, the action is right and good only if the person doing it is motivated by ‘good will’ which applies to the actions done for reasons of principle or sense of duty, not self-interest, sympathy or kindness. Furthermore, Kant’s categorical imperative is the best known expression of his ethical approach, it applies to a
There are various theories in ethics, which are helpful to build the appropriate fundamental principles and applicable to professional and personal demeanor of a person in his life on a daily basis. There are mainly four theories which are crucial for right action and ethical behavior. These are: 1. “Golden means” ethics (Aristotle, 384 – 322 B.C.). According to this theory, the best solution is achieved through reason and logic and is a compromise or “golden mean” between extremes of excess and deficiency.
