KANTIAN ETHICS

What is Kantian ethics?

-Kant believed there were absolute moral rules that could be worked out rationally; these moral rules apply in all situations.

-His ethical theory is absolutist & unlike other rule-based systems, doesn't rely directly upon belief in God.

-A deontological theory that focuses on the right actions rather than the right outcomes.

-We should follow rules called categorical imperatives - things we could make into universal laws. They allow us to treat persons as ends & would be permissible in a perfect kingdom of ends.

Define good will.

-The only truly, intrinsically good thing, having good motives & intentions.

Define duty.

-The action that is morally required.

What does Kant believe about Good will?

-The truly only good thing is a good will - having good intentions.

-Kant says ‘‘Good Will shines like a precious jewel’’.

-It doesn’t matter if we are prevented from carrying out our intentions, what matters is that we aim to do the right thing. This good will is the desire to do ‘duty for duty’s sake’.

What does Kant believe about duty?

-If we have good will, we must perform the right action for the right reason.

-For Kant, the motive & outward action must correspond. In order to see what duty is, it’s worth looking at 2 things that Kant says duty isnt’:

-Doing the right thing out of self-interest or possible consequences is not duty.

-Doing the right thing out of inclination (bc we feel like it) is not duty.

-Duty is that which we rationally work out what we ought to do. Our emotions & possible consequences are irrelevant.

-Kant believes all human beings have moral duties that they must act upon just bc they are human beings.

Define autonomy.

-The belief we are free & able to make our own decisions.

Define maxim.

-Another word for moral rules or principles.

-Things we act upon.

Define a hypothetical imperative.

-A moral obligation that is dependent upon desiring the goal in question.

Define a categorical imperative.

-An unconditional moral obligation that we’re able to work out using reason.

What is the principle of Autonomy?

-Kant believes there are absolute moral duties.

-Human beings have rationality & unlike other ethical theories, we're able to work out what these rules are.

-These rules aren't imposed by God or a similar authority.

-Kant argues whenever we carry out an action, we're acting upon a Maxim: a rule we have in mind that we're following.

-In order to decide whether our maxims are good, we need to rationally consider whether the rules we're following are categorical imperatives or merely hypothetical imperatives.

What is a Hypothetical Imperative?

-A command we should follow in order to achieve an end result.

-Kant argues if the command only applies in certain cases or is dependant on the outcome, then this isn't a moral duty.

What is a Categorical Imperative?

-A command which logically has to be followed. It doesn't depend upon the end results.

-Its logical form is simply 'Do X' or 'Don't do X'.

What are Kant’s 3 formulations?

-3 ways we can test whether our actions are categorical imperatives.

-Universal law.

-Persons as ends.

-Kingdom of ends.

Define universal law.

-The principle that we should only carry out acts if they can be a law for everyone at all times.

Define persons as ends.

-The idea that human beings should be treated with dignity & respect. Not as mere objects.

Define kingdom of ends.

-A hypothetical state where ppl always act according to the moral rules & treat others as ends.

What is Universal Law?

-Kant suggests the action we propose should be able to be made a universal law.

-We have to consider whether this is smt all ppl could logically do; if not we shouldn't put ourselves above the law by being an exception.

What does Persons as Ends mean?

-Kant believes human beings are rational & autonomous: we have a duty to treat each other as persons & not as we should treat an object.

-We can use objects but we ought not to use ppl.

What is Kingdom of Ends?

-In his final formulation, Kant asks us to imagine we are part of the law-making council in a hypothetical perfect Kingdom of ends.

-If we were to live in this place where everyone always treated each others as ends, would our maxim be smt that could be permitted.

What are Kant’s 4 main categorical imperatives?

-It is wrong to make a lying promise.

-It is wrong to commit suicide.

-It is wrong to neglect one’s talent.

-It is wrong to refrain from helping others.

What are the issues with the idea of duty?

-Duty is a useful concept as our inclinations & desires about what we want are subject to change. This concept demands that we put our feelings aside in order to do the right thing.

-The concept of duty can be abused with the idea of obedience to authority. The nazis on trial argued they were doing their duty. A kantian would say one who understands Kantian ethics and its respect for people, wouldn’t allow the attrocities of the Nazi regime to take place.

-An issue is the problem of conflicting duties, eg a murderer asking the whereabouts of his next victim, we have a duty to tell the truth yet we have a duty to save life. Kantian ethics doesn’t give a clear way of deciding which duty we should follow when they collide.

What is the issue with duty & God.

-An issue with Kant's reliance on duty is the link to God.

-A key feature on Kantian ethics is doing duty for duty’s sake regardless of any reward.

-However, Kant’s 3 postulates suggest otherwise & that there is a reward for duty.

What are Kant’s 3 postulates that have to be in place for morality to function?

-Kantian ethics is doing duty for duties sake regardless of any reward, yet there appears to be a reward for duty. There are 3 postulates (assumptions) that have to be in place for morality to function. These are:

-That we have free will: if we aren’t free to do the good or evil thing then there can be no moral responsibility.

-That there is an afterlife & we are immortal: Kant argues morality requires the sommum bonum to be achieved. This is where perfect virtue is rewarded by perfect happiness. This doesn’t happen in this life, but the next.

-That God exists: in order that sommum bonum occurs, there must be a God who ensures the justice of the universe.

What are the strengths of Kantian ethics?

-The principle of universal law seems to provide a useful principle; has some similarities to the golden rule of religion ‘treat others as you would wish them to treat you’.

-The appeal to concepts such as reason & duty makes Kantian ethics impartial & less prone to personal bias.

-Kantian ethics respects the intrinsic value of persons. This enables a concept of rights to be used.

-Based on reason, all ethical practices should be based on reason not emotion. His theory does not allow favouritism for friends.

-Philosopher James Rachels argues a system of consistent rules works & everyone knows what their obligations are. If you break rules because of consequences or love, the legal system would be a mess.

-H.A Prichard supports Kant’s theory as even a small child can understand it - we should act in line with laws we want universally accepted.

-The categorical Imperative tells us exactly what is right & wrong, giving us clear moral guidelines.

-Kant sees humans as the pinnacle of creation, they have intrinsic value & worth above all things. This is helpful as it means his ethical approach will treat humans as an end in themselves rather than a means to and end.

-Kantian ethics is a secular theory, there isn’t a requirement to believe in God as the imperatives are worked out rationally rather than being given as commands by God.

What are the weaknesses of Kantian ethics?

-Outcome does matter, we tell the truth to a murderer about the whereabouts of his victim, we would feel guilty if our honesty led to their death.

-Kantian ethics is better at showing things we ought not do to rather than showing what we should do.

-J.S Mill disagrees with Kant, saying there are some occasions when consequences are so severe where it’s better to break a rule than allow awful things to happen.

-Kantian ethics is too abstract & theoretical: it offers perfect solutions based on a hypotheical Kingdom of ends, yet it cannot cope with a real world where ppl may act in an immoral way & we have to respond.

-Universal rules aren’t helpful in the real world where every situation is different. Joseph Fletcher argues SE is far more flexible than duty based approaches because we cannot always use absolutist theories in every diff situation.

-Joseph Fletcher argues acting out of a sense of ‘duty for duty’s sake’ is cold & impersonal. Other factors such as sympathy, empathy & love need to be involved in moral decision making. Fletcher based his ethical approach on the actions of Jesus, where he set aside rules in order to reach a loving outcome.

-Critics have suggested Kant doesn’t escape the idea of God. His summum bonum is based on the idea that God exists to reward those who do their moral duty.

Kantian ethics is too abstract to be applicable to practical moral decision-making.

-So reliant on reason that it rejects the importance of other factors such as sympathy, empathy & love in moral decision making.

-Putting duty above feeling is cold & inhuman -there is no place for love and personal reasons in Kant’s theory.

-Kant is accused of being too reliant on reason when making ethical decisions. Believing we can use our reason to act with good will & duty. However scholars would argue reason is not always correct. Aquinas states there are apparent goods & real goods, meaning sometimes we think we are acting in the right way but our reason is wrong.

-If there is no afterlife, then there is no summum bonum & no reason to suppose theres any justice for acting morally.

-No such thing as true freedom; our decisions are practically made for us based on our culture, upbringing, education ect. The idea all of our choices are not really free is called determinism.

-Kantian ethics is too abstract & theoretical: it offers perfect solutions based on a hypotheical Kingdom of ends, yet it cannot cope with a real world where ppl may act in an immoral way & we have to respond.

Kantian ethics is not too abstract to be applicable to practical moral decision-making.

-Categorical Imperative tells us exactly what is right & wrong, giving us a clear sense of moral guidelines. Kant focuses on duty, do the right thing bc it is the right thing to do.

-Kant makes it clear that morality is doing one’s duty & not just following feelings. We cannot assume what is good for us is good for everyone else.

-Kant’s ethics are rational, He is not swayed by emotion. His theory does not allow us to show favouritism for friends. Unlike Utilitarianism & SE which can be weakened by emotional decision making.