Kant’s main idea is that the thought behind your actions is what determines if it’s wrong or right, not the outcome, he uses categorical imperative. So, the moral of your action is judged by the principal that provokes the action, not the outcome as I stated above. He calls these principles “maxim”. He says “the only acceptable maxim are those that can be defined as a universal law, because it is without exception” (pg.98). He uses an example of his view of morality of suicide.…
Kant is a firm believer of duty based ethics, meaning that one’s morality is defined by ones motives. Thus, Kant believes that an action should be performed simply because it’s the right thing to do, and for no other reason. Also, Kant states that duty defines intrinsic value, meaning that a person’s motives for what they do should have ends within themselves, without consequences or desired satisfaction being built into their actions. Kant also states the one should act so that the maximum of your action can and should be made into universal law, expressing that the actions of your motives should apply to everyone in the same way. Thus, bringing us to the fact that action from duty has to be an categorical imperative, meaning that everyone should and would be able to act the same way, sharing equal positioning.…
The first: “if everyone can consistently act on the maxim (general rule) in similar situations (103). The second: “you would be willing to let that happen” (103). In Kant’s reasoning, if you are willingly accept the action as universal for all to follow, it must be morally permissible. The second version to the categorical imperative is applying the rule of the “means-end principle”. The means- end principle states that we need to treat people (including ourselves) as individuals who have “intrinsic worth” rather than “tools” others can use for their own personal gain…
This is because he sets his view from the belief that everyone has reason and it should be used in identifying whether a certain action is right or wrong. It should be the obligation of all people to ensure that they do not use others as means to their personal ends and that the actions they per take would be well integrated universally without any contradictions. Kant’s categorical imperative can be associated with some of the literary work that has been written. In the play, Antigone, Antigone is a courageous and moral woman who goes against the king’s orders with the aim of giving his brother a proper burial. She believes that the dead should be laid to rest with honor and she sets her mind to do it, even if it means doing it on her own and losing her life in the end (Fitts and Fitzgerald 1:50).…
Kant developed what is called the categorical imperative to test if one’s action is in accordance with moral law. To use the categorical imperative, one must propose an action, for example, being honest. Next, the proposed action is put into a statement or maxim. The proposed action then develops into “I will always be honest”. From this, one imagines a world where this maxim is followed by everyone.…
Kant is a philosopher that precedes Plato. His moral ideology is that of a social contract, He brings forth that natural law and mill, utilitarianism, is asserted. Kant has two versions of a categorical imperative. He sees this as a supreme principle of morality which embodies and compares to the bottom up ethics. This is rooted not in human happiness but in the human will/reason that is also referred to as the state of mind.…
This is made clear when viewed from the ethical perspective of Immanuel Kant. Kant viewed morality through categorical imperatives, or commands that must be followed. For Kant, these rules are derived in reason and exist objectively and each person is bound by them. The first formulation of the categorical imperative is the universalizability principle, which states, “Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.”…
Although Kant tries to make the categorical imperative seem like a nicely packaged set of rules, we must be mindful when observing these rules, as they are merely guidelines. As our book Fundamentals of Philosophy points out, our moral decisions rarely come to us in neat and tidy choices between obvious good and obvious evil. As the old proverb says, choices are about saying no to one thing so you can say yes to…
Or rather; speaking of hypothetical imperatives, Kant defines such actions as being based on one’s personal desires instead of one that is based on a theory of morality. Whereas; and to the contrary, Kant’s categorical imperative would be the action that succumbs to reason in all circumstances and is not a basis for personal inclinations. Such as when dealing with young, impressionable and moldable young ladies being purposefully misled to believe ‘erroneous’ statements about themselves for the purpose of a profit-seeking CEO’s to sell more magazines; which is purely and selfishly driven. In defiance to the Kantian theory of morality which proposes that, “I ought never to act in such a way that I couldn’t also will that the maxim on which I act should be a universal law,” (Kant, I., 2008).…
It is important to have a set of rules like Kant’s, to help guide us through difficult situations. Rules are what help regulate the actions of society as a whole. If everyone were allowed to do their own thing without being held accountable for our actions, society would crumble. We should assess each dilemma with the mindset that the outcome of our decisions should be one that we would hope would apply to others as well. Realistically, the outcome of a decision, especially with the expectation that there are no exceptions to this rule, is going to be subjective.…
These are rules that a person ought to do and follow. Categorical imperatives, according to Kant, are our moral obligations as human beings capable of rational thought. In the form of formulations, this kind of imperative is the foundation of Kant’s moral theory. According to Kantian ethics, morality is derived from…
There are subsets of actions and qualities that allow for use to live a good life in a Kantian view. These actions and qualities are defined by philosopher Immanuel Kant and solidified with the creation of what we know as the Categorical Imperative, which is the guiding principle for all our actions. This imperative is based on the premise of whether or not we would like your view/action or maxim to be blown up and imposed on a global scale. With this imperative, Kant provides a foundation for our moral compass. What we do must always fit within this imperative so that we can become a virtuous being and in turn become happy.…
On the other hand, there are categorical imperatives which have nothing to do with the results of our action. Categorical imperatives must be follow unconditionally regardless of the circumstances. For example, let’s say that we are in a situation in which killing an innocent person will benefit us greatly and our dream always has been a millionaire. Even though killing that person would help us achieve our goal, it is wrong categorically because it is wrong regardless of the achievement of our goals. To Kant, Morality should be all about categorical imperatives which are…
Mussaya Thanthima PHL-210-01 10-13-17 Immanuel Kant’s theory of the categorical imperative states that those duties are moral if they are universally applicable. This duty that does not contain a motive or goal from which one could either benefit or not. It is good because it is universally applicable. According to Kant this duty consist in just doing the right thing simply because it is right. An example of such a duty, is when you see a boy scout helping an elderly person across the street.…
Introduction Immanuel Kant discusses many ethical systems which are based on a belief that the reason is the final authority of morality. The actions of any sort must come from a sense of duty dictated by reason and no action performed solely in obedience to the law or custom can be regarded as moral. Kant described two main systems of command given by reason. Hypothetical Imperative defined by Kant is the formula of the command of reason that represents an objective principle "in so far as it is necessitating for a will.”…