Kant-Deontology

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Deontology
comes from Greek deontos, meaning duty- Deontological ethics concerned with examining motivation for an act, not its consequences- moral principals est. a priori
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E.g. of form deontology can take
Action is right if it is in agreement with the rules that rational moral agents would accept (Contractualism)- Social Contract Theory
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E.g. of form deontology can take 2
Action is right if it is in agreement with the rules established by God (Divine Command Theory)
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E.g. of form deontology can take 3
Action is right if it agrees with a single deontological principle (Monistic Deontology)- a single deontology
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What is deontology associated with?
moral absolutism: there are absolute standards against which actions can be judged
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How are Deontological laws written?
written as negatives: ‘Do not…’- negative freedomes;
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Lead to...
the way for what is obligatory and what is our duty
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Some say Deontological approach is...
too legalistic-simply applying the letter of the law may not lead to moral action.
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Kant
Used REASON & logic to formulate a theory of moral law
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Why should we do the right thing according to Kant?
just because it is right & not because it fulfils our desires
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How do we know what's right?
We know what is right by using reason (a priori) As reason is universal it will lead to the same results everywhere and over again
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What does Kant reject?
rejects morality based on consequences, feelings, or desires- opposes Wittgenstein
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Autonomy of the will
that if a person is to act morally then they must be capable of exercising free will
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HETERONOMY
(something is right because it satisfies a desire, emotion, goal or obligation
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Elements needed to make correct moral decision
“good will”, understand “duty” and act accordingly, motives must be pure, can't be for self-interest,
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Duty
what makes the “will” good
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Kant quote
‘It is impossible to conceive of anything at all in the world which can be taken as good without qualification, except a good will’
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Types of imperatives
HYPOTHETICAL and CATEGORICAL
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HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVES
non-moral commands to the will-don't apply to everyone thus are not UNIVERSAL-used to achieve specific goal e.g. : If I want to lose weight I ought to go on a diet
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Key elements of HI
imperative depends on results and on personal well- being. So in a sense they are selfish and the motive is not pure-thus is linked to the HETERONOMOUS will
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CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVES
moral commands-are universal and apply to everyone; are based on an OBJECTIVE a priori law of reason
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3 formulations of the categorical imperative
UNIVERSALISATION, FORMULA OF END IN ITSELF and KINGDOM OF ENDS
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UNIVERSALISATION
before you act, ask yourself whether you would like everyone in the same situation to act in the same way
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example of UNIVERSALISATION
e.g. never breaking a promise which should be universal-man borrowing money and promising to pay it back but with no intension of so doing-makes promising impossible since no one would ever believe in promises, so it is wrong, always to break a promi
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FORMULA OF END IN ITSELF
. Never treat a person as a means to an end -give each person intrinsic value. If you do treat people as a means to and end it shows that you view yourself as superior, which is wrong. Do not exploit others or ignore individual human dignity
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KINGDOM OF ENDS:
every action should be undertaken as if the individual were ‘a law-making member of a kingdom of ends’.
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What does this ensure
every individual appreciates how significant is the part they play in establishing moral rules
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Maxim
Absolute moral statement- must be universal; rules devised from the Categorical Imperative
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virtue
being the good will which inclines towards the fulfilment of duty rather than self-interest
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What did Kant believe?
universe is essentially just and that the moral law would be satisfied (the good rewarded and the bad punished) in a post-mortem existence. (But, reward in the afterlife is not a good motive for morality)
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Is motive really important when the outcome is good?
Consider Double effect; if doing something morally good has a morally bad side-effect-it's ethically okay
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Frankena
‘There is more to the moral point of view than being willing to universalise one’s rules.’
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JS Mill
JS Mill: deontologists fail to specify which principles should take precedence when rights and duties conflict
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Bentham
the principles that deontologists attribute to natural law or universal reason are really a matter of subjective opinion
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WD Ross: Prima Facie Duties
Notion of acting out of motivation is incoherent as we cannot choose why we act but rather how we will act
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also affected by
things that have already happened e.g. owing a debt of gratitude, a promise, a relationship of responsibility
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prima facie duties
duties to repay acts of generosity or to help those dependent upon us
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identified 7 prima facie duties
fidelity, gratitude, justice, non-maleficence, beneficence, reparation and self-improvement
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when prima facie duties conflict...
make a judgement about which one matters more in a particular situation-learn from experience which ones matter more in which situation
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Does Ross’ approach convincingly approach the issue of rights?
e.g. whether people have the right to choose whether they can have euthanasia?
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Card 2

Front

Action is right if it is in agreement with the rules that rational moral agents would accept (Contractualism)- Social Contract Theory

Back

E.g. of form deontology can take

Card 3

Front

Action is right if it is in agreement with the rules established by God (Divine Command Theory)

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Action is right if it agrees with a single deontological principle (Monistic Deontology)- a single deontology

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

moral absolutism: there are absolute standards against which actions can be judged

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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