Freedom and Moral Acts Vocabulary

Flashcards defining key ethical vocabulary, Kantian concepts, and types of human acts based on the lecture material.

Freedom (Merriam Dictionary)

The absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.

Freedom (Cambridge Dictionary)

The condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited.

Freedom (Immanuel Kant)

The right to control one’s actions based on reason, not desire.

Autonomy

Self-rule with no interference of others; derived from the Greek auto ('self') and nomos ('rule'). Acting according to a law given to oneself rather than dictates of nature or social conventions.

Mere means

To use something or someone only for your own benefit with no thought to the interest or benefit of the thing or person you are using.

Mere thing

Anything that is not a person—not a being capable of rational autonomy.

Duty

Acting based on reason and moral law, even if it conflicts with feelings.

Inclination

Acting based on feelings, desires, or personal wants.

Heteronomy

The influences of one's behavior and moral decision-making as driven by outside sources.

Hypothetical Imperatives

If-then commands that you should follow if you want something, which are about prudence rather than morality.

Categorical Imperative

Non-conditional commands derived from pure reason that must be followed regardless of desires.

Maxim

A rule or principle that gives reason of an action.

Universal Law

Something that must always be done in a similar situation.

Universalizability Principle

The first formulation of the categorical imperative: 'Act only on that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.'

Formula of Humanity

The second formulation of the categorical imperative: 'Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.'

Free Will

The internal ability or power to make choices independently of external or internal determinism (like fate, biology, or divine control).

Freedom (Ethical/Political)

The external conditions or social realities that allow a person to act or express their will without coercion, oppression, or constraint.

General Act

An act performed without thinking about or willing it, such as blinking eyes or breathing.

Moral Act

An act that comes into existence through the free exercise of reason and will, evaluated by its object, intention, and circumstances.

Object (in Moral Acts)

An action that is rationally and freely chosen by the will, giving an action its particular moral character.

Intention (in Moral Acts)

The choice of the will to do something.

Circumstances (in Moral Acts)

The context involving who is acting and what is involved, necessary to evaluate a particular moral act.

Human Acts

Actions that make use of a person's knowledge and free will, such as loving your enemy or praying to God.

Acts of Humans

Natural actions that do not make use of a person's intellect or knowledge, such as breathing, blinking, and sneezing.