Kantian Ethics

overview

• Immanuel Kant was an important German philosopher of the 18th century

• Kant believed that there is a universal, objective moral law that we can access and know through our reason

• Kant believed in acting morally in accordance with the good regardless of the consequences

maxims

• another word for moral rules, determined by reason

deontological

• from the Latin for ‘duty’, ethics focused on the intrinsic rightness and wrongness of actions

duty

• duties are created by the moral law, to follow it is our duty

• the word deontological means duty-based

categorical imperative

• an unconditional moral obligation that is always binding irrespective of a person’s inclination or purpose

hypothetical imperative

• a moral obligation that applies only if one desires the implied goal

kingdom of ends

• an imagined future in which all people act in accordance to the moral laws, the categorical imperative

summum bonum

• the highest, most supreme good

duty and good will

• Kantian ethics are deontological - they focus on the idea of duty

• Kant thought there is objective and absolute moral law. morality is not just personal preference or invented by society

• moral law can be known through reason

• Kant thought the only thing that can be called good without any qualification is the good will

• purity of motive is important for Kant - an action is good if it is done for the right reason, but the same action is not virtuous if it is done to impress others or for some other kind of personal gain

• morality should not be driven by emotion. we should do the right thing because it is the right thing, not because we feel sorry for someone or loyal to them, or for any other emotional reason

• Kant gives examples of duties, such as: doing good to others, not making false promises, being truthful, not hurting others, pursuing the greater good, recognising the right to private property…

Kant’s understanding of moral knowledge

Kant thought knowledge can be divided into two kinds:

1. knowledge that comes from sense experience, a posteriori knowledge

2. knowledge that we have at first hand, a priori knowledge

• Kant thought moral knowledge is a priori

• we do not need experience to know what is right and wrong

• moral knowledge comes from within

• he also thought knowledge is synthetic rather analytic: we cannot tell whether something is right or wrong by looking at it. we bring additional information, from our knowledge of right and wrong. because we bring additional knowledge when we are making judgements, Kant thought moral knowledge must be synthetic

imperatives

• Kant understood moral law in terms of the hypothetical imperative and the categorical imperative. he thought that moral law, which is good in itself, is categorical, not hypothetical

• the hypothetical imperative refers to rules we must follow if we want to achieve particular results. if i want to achieve x, then i must do y

• categorical imperative refers to rules that must be followed with no ‘ifs’. moral rules are categorical imperatives. they must be followed, regardless of what we hope to achieve in the end results and regardless of our emotions or personal preferences

three formulations of the categorical imperative

1. the universal law of nature - our moral rules must be capable of being universal (they should be universalisable). they should be rules that apply to everyone at all times and in all cultures. we should not make rules where we expect to be allowed to break them when it suits us. truth-telling is Kant’s major example of this - we should always tell the truth

2. the end in itself - people should not use others as a means to an end. they should treat others as people, not as tools to get what they want

3. the kingdom of ends - people should act as if their behaviour is setting the laws in an ideal kingdom. imagine we live in an ideal society of rational people. which laws would we have to govern behaviour? always behave as if you are following those rules

Kant’s three postulates

Kant makes three assumptions (postulates) which underpin ethics:

1. freedom - we are all free to make moral decisions. if we were not free to choose then we could not be praised or blamed for what we do as we would have no choice. we must assume we are free to do our duty

2. immortality - good people should be rewarded with ultimate happiness. this is the highest good (summum bonum). in this life we can see that it does not always happen that good people are rewarded with happiness. we must assume there is an afterlife in which justice is done in the end

3. God - it seems that Kant assumes there must be a God to bring about the afterlife and to ensure that justice is done. Kant thought that human reason could not know God, but his ethics imply God

possible strengths of Kantian ethics

• Kant’s ideas of moral absolutes can be appealing. morality is not changeable depending on fashionable opinion; there are some thing which are always absolutely right or wrong

• Kant emphasises human moral reasoning, giving autonomy to people wasting time wondering whether, in this circumstance, they still need to tell the truth. rules are rules, which can make them easy to know and apply

• Kant recognises the dignity and worth of other human beings, whatever their status in society

possible weaknesses of Kantian ethics

• Kantian ethics can be seen as cold and lacking in compassion for people’s individual circumstances

• some argue that Kant fails to recognise the importance of human emotion in moral decision-making

• sometimes Kant seems to be recommending sticking to rules even when it becomes clear that such actions will lead to terrible consequences

• Kant does not tell us what to do when duties conflict. he does not give guidance about how to make a choice

• religious believers might think that Kant seems to give human reason a more important place in morality that gives to God

To what extent should ethical judgements about right and wrong be based on the extent to which duty is served?

‘Kantian ethics do not give enough importance to human emotions such as sympathy and compassion’ Discuss