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analysis of Kant's categorical imperative
essay on kantian ethics
essay on kantian ethics
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Great philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill and Plato unwittingly weighed in on this story, long before it ever occurred. Immanuel Kant is considered a significant and influential figure in modern philosophy. He may have single handedly set the tone on how humanity conducts themselves in society. Kant’s Categorical Imperative is basically a set of principles that we should follow. Essentially, it is our moral duty to uphold these laws whether you want to or not and that they are universal, meaning no one is immune to the rules. Michael Yudanin states one “to be compliant with the moral law, it has to be universalizable, that is, it has to be capable to be thought as a universal law that binds everybody, everywhere, and at any point in time, without contradiction” (Yudanin). In the previous story, Ridjie acted immorally. She used her little sister’s ingenuousness to her advantage. She knew her sister would have done whatever she’d asked and take the blame. This act not only earned her her father’s trust, it also weakened his relationship with her sister. Ridjie’s action were solely for her personal benefit. The possibility of how it could affect Sammy were the least of her concern. Additionally, Kant would also view Sammy’s action immoral. Although she lied to save them from a horrible punishment, she lied
Kantianism is named after a German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who lived in 1724-1804. According to Kant, the only thing that is good is good will; moreover, the good will builds the whole structure of the society. Kantianism is based on the intent of the action or person’s intention which are the predominant attributes of the good will. The basic principle of Kantianism theory depicts the idea of universal truths. It explains that a moral rule must be universal. Also, it describes that people should be treated with respect. Moreover, it explains the credibility of an action why it is right or wrong and convinces the user with logical reasons. Kant proposed the Categorical Imperative, which describes a set up to explain, “What makes a moral rule appropriate?” One version of the Categorical Imperative states that it is wrong for a person to use himself or another person uniquely as a means to an end. Most of the time it is easier to use the second version of the Categorical Imperative to analyze a moral problem from a Kantian point of view. For example, in the case of Jean, misusing the responsibilities of someone else’s duty. It was wrong for Jean to treat the profession of the doctor as a means to an end. Jean deceived the profession of the doctors with the goal of getting benefit to save his nephew. It was wrong for jean to misuse his responsibilities rather than to think that he can find a way to look for a doctor. We can also look at this scenario using the first version of the Categorical Imperative. Jean wanted to save his nephew Pierre. A proposed moral rule might be, “Take a decision in his hands to save his nephew.” However, if everyone followed the same rule, it will diminish the sense of duty, responsibility, and the respect of the profession. If everyone will act the same way in this type of situation and try to misuse his or her professional responsibilities, then there will
Society is not a realm in which all of the rules are listed on paper; people naturally abide them due to their countless experiences. The results of these incidents or the incident as a whole sometimes transform itself into an unspoken code that people are assumed to know by heart. For example, humans are treated differently - usually with more respect and higher expectations (such as CEOs or famous actors and actresses) - when they are in a very high position or level in an industry. No matter how much or little they do, they are frequently noticed more by the media than anyone else. But how about those who live in their normal lives trying to bring home the bread and milk for their families? Or those who do a substantial amount of service and deeds for their communities and companies? Ty...
This selection is only the first section of Immanuel Kant’s Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. I am only going to discuss duty and morality. Kant gives three propositions regarding duty (p.107). Kant argues that the will that acts from reason is the will guided by duty.
In this paper, I will critique Kantian ethic’s failure to defend beings disputably labeled “irrational.” The concept of a rational being is a common motif throughout Immanuel Kant’s “Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals.” These beings comprise the foundation of his entire argument. Therefore, for the purpose of this essay, it is crucial to further examine what is meant by “rational.” Kant offers three essential requirements that separate rational beings from their irrational counterparts; the ability to reason, a moral will, and autonomy (53, 49, 41.) Rational beings are those included in his ideal “kingdom of ends” (39.) He defines this kingdom as “a systematic union of rational beings through common objective law” (39.) Since Kant’s code of ethics only applies to those deemed rational, some fundamental questions remain ambiguous. Firstly, in what manner should Kant’s higher capacity beings interact with those “incapable” of reason? Could those who fail to meet the three requirements be abused or exploited? Would this be justified? Some may conclude that Kant has evaded these inquiries altogether.
Categorical imperative is Kant's expression for the ethical law. It should give an approach to us to assess good actions and to make moral judgments. It is not summon to perform particular activities. It is basically a formal method by which to assess any activity about which may be ethically applicable. Kant along these lines utilized this to infer that ethical obligation is a commitment tying of every ethical operator without a special case. He accordingly highlight the plans for the ethical laws which are the three unique methods for saying what it is, and these include: dependably act in a manner that you could will that the adage of your demonstration turn into a general law, dependably act in a manner that you treat mankind, whether in
David Hume sought out to express his opinion in which sentiment is seen as the grounding basis for morality. This sentiment is acting as the causal reasoning for why we have morality or act in a moral way. David Hume, as well as Kant, believe that causal necessity governs humans lives and actions. In this essay, I will show how Hume, provides an argument in favor of sentiment being the foundation of our morality, rather than his predecessors who favored reason. To do this, I will begin to outline Hume’s theories, highlighting his main ideas for grounding morality on sentiment and bring up some possible counterarguments one of which being Immanuel Kant's theories and how that might potentially weaken his argument and how the roots of morality
Immanuel Kant is a philosopher of the early centuries, one of his well-known works is his moral theory which can be referred to as Deontology. The moral theory arises from the principle behind Deontology which is derived from -deon which signifies rule or law and -ology which means the study of. Kant designed his moral theory to be contradictory to utilitarianism which is a moral theory that focuses on the outcomes of an action. Beside other factors the moral theory is a non-consequentialist moral theory which in basic terms means the theory follows a law based system of making judgements and disregards the consequences. Kant once said “Actions are only morally good if they are done because of a good will” however, for Kant a good will is complex
Immanuel Kant is a popular modern day philosopher. He was a modest and humble man of his time. He never left his hometown, never married and never strayed from his schedule. Kant may come off as boring, while he was an introvert but he had a great amount to offer. His thoughts and concepts from the 1700s are still observed today. His most recognized work is from the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Here Kant expresses his idea of ‘The Good Will’ and the ‘Categorical Imperative’.
In Foundation of the Metaphysics of Morals Immanuel Kant presents three propositions of morality. In this paper I am going to explain the first proposition of morality that Kant states. Then I will assert a possible objection to Kant’s proposition by utilizing an example he uses known as the sympathetic person. Lastly, I will show a defense Kant could use against the possible objection to his proposition.
So now that we have an understanding of Kantian ethics, let’s take that lens and look through it at the VW scandal. One of the key arbitrators of the scandal was the engineer that designed the cheat program, James Laing. You may believe that because VW 's will and duty align in creating the emissions test and Kantian theory doesn 't consider the consequences a factor did James and VW act wrongly? Looking through our hypothetical lens with a Kantian perspective the answer is a resounding yes they did act wrongly. Why VW and James acted wrongly comes from the mere means
In Critique of Practical Reason, Immanuel Kant attempts to establish a valid basis for ethics. Specifically, he wants to develop an ethical system that has compelling power. He views the traditional, happiness-based ethics as insufficient because they lack compelling power, meaning that they do not have the power to curtail our actions. His solution is that people should be guided by the moral law, which can be discovered by pure reason alone, and which says that any action should be judged by whether or not it could serve as a principle in a universal law. However, I argue that Kant’s proposed ethical system fails in two ways. First, it lacks the compelling power that Kant thinks it has. Second, if the moral law is accessible via reason alone, then different cultures should not come up with the radically different ethical systems that they have come up with over history.
When being an electrical engineer, acting in a professional way is one of the most important things to remember. Supplying products or doing services in a professional way makes companies look better and more appealing to consumers. Clients are very important to engineering because they bring in most of the money for engineering professions. Clients want professional businesses they can trust and have faith that the good or service being done for them is being done correctly and efficiently. With that though the clients must also be respectful to the professionals doing the task for them. These professionals are taking time to create a good or perform a service for their client. A strong relationship between a professional and their client in engineering is key to the success of the business and should be taken very seriously. Engineering professionals though also must have interactions with the general public when creating things like building, bridges and other big monuments. These things will be used every day by individuals and engineering professionals must ensure that that they are safe for other people. Engineering professionals must be very knowledgeable in what they are doing because the things that are created by engineers affect thousands of people every day. Experience is key to creating something clients will like because professionals know what has worked in the past and what has not worked. They also know from experience what clients are looking for and what kind of a relationship is needed in order to keep clients happy. In order to be a successful engineering professional one must be knowledgeable at what they do, calm and patient with clients and consumers, and lastly be independent and not vulnerable so clients ...
Kent Emanuel considers the Categorical Imperative as the central principle of his ethical theory. He claims that some human actions such as stealing, cheating, and lying are usually immoral and are not right things to do, despite their good outcomes. Based on the Categorical Imperative, he has formulated several principles including the Formula of Universal Law (FUL). The Formula of Universal Law (FUL) is Kant 's first formulation of the Categorical Imperative, which states “Act as if the maxim of your action were to become by your will a universal law of nature” (G, 4:421/31). In The Formula of Universal Law (FUL), Immanuel Kent introduces a philosophical term such as “Maxim” and “Will”. It is very important to understand these terms in order to comprehend the concept of FUL to a greater extent. In general speaking, humans are considered as a rational being among all the organisms. However, while performing their duties, most individual tends to maximize the benefits of their actions rather than observing whether their actions are rational or not. Overall, people usually make their decisions based on the standards that will give them the best outcome. Thus, Kent considered “Maxim” as the principle on the basis of which Human beings make their decisions. For instance, doctors save the
For example, as under Kant’s theory, one must never lie (for it does not meet either categorical imperatives), and while under most situations the truth prevails regardless, some situations do call for a little more sympathy. Consider someone who is suffering after a physical trauma - distressed in regards to how society will react to their now scarred body – asking you if they would ever be accepted as “normal” ever again. Acting under your own moral judgement, most individuals would seek to calm this person down, to settle their worries, and would proceed to act out of empathy and tell them that they are still just like everyone else. However, this is lie, they are evidently not like everyone else – they are missing limbs and their skin is covered in scars, so Kant would rather you tell them this and worsen their distress. Beyond this, the instinctive reaction to lie to the individual out of empathy is deemed not morally praiseworthy as you are not acting out of a motive of duty (i.e. the duty to not lie); rather you have acted out of
In Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant argues that human beings inherently have capability to make purely rational decisions that are not based on inclinations and such rational decisions prevent people from interfering with freedom of another. Kant’s view of inherent ability to reason brings different perspective to ways which human beings can pursue morality thus it requires a close analytical examination.