Kantian Ethics

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  • Created by: ekenny5
  • Created on: 01-02-22 16:18

Immanuel Kant born 1724 in East Prussia. Believed in deontological thinking - we should do the right thing just because it is right, not for the need to fulfil desires or based on feelings. His ideas were centred around duty. Not convinced our knowledge came purely from observation.

His theory is absolutist, invariable -  not to do one's duty is absolutley wrong. Kant says moral statements are a priori and gained by pure reason. Ethical statements are a priori synthetic, knowable through reason, not experience or sensation, and may or may not be true.

It is a rigid moral theory imposing strict universal rules. Context and consequences are irrelevant. Either it is our duty to help or it is not. Emotions are too inconsistent to be rational.

Reason:

Kant says we are all rational and have the ability to reason and think objectively. When we are all faced with the same moral problem we should all come to the same conclusion using reason. 

  • 'life without reason and morality has no value'
  • 'what is right for me, using my reason, is right for everyone, using our reason'

Autonomy: the belief that we are self-directing beings, the centre of our own world, making our own free choices.

Heteronomy: for Kant, the state of being directed by others in our decision making.

Kant says that the only moral law we should follow is that which is knowable by reason - autonomy rather than heteronomy.

Good Will:

For Kant, the only truly good thing is a good will - having good intentions. 'good will shines like a precious jewel'. All other things such as courage and wealth may or may not be good dependent on situation - good will will always be good. It doesn't matter if we are prevented from carrying out our intentions; what matters is that we aim to do the right thing. The good will is to do 'duty for duty's sake'

Duty:

If we have 'good will', we do the right action for the right reason. Duty is not doing the right thing out of self interest or because of potential consequences, or doing the right thing out of inclination (because we feel like it). 

Duty is what which we rationally work out that we ought to do. Our emotions and possible consequences are irrelevant. All human beings have moral duties that they must act upon just because they are human beings. 

Absolute rules avoid problems of ambiguity and emotion clouding our judgement. 

'two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and reverence... the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me' 

maxim is a rule or principle we have in our mind. They are the things we act upon. We do not know whether these maxims are good or not. In order to decide, we must rationally consider whether we are following the categorical imperatives or just the hypothetical imperative.

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