Kantian Ethics

What type of ethical theory is Kantian ethics?

DEONTOLOGICAL, AGNOSTIC,
Obey rules because they are good - duty/obligation. Focus on the action and don’t depend on the consequences, obey rules because they’re good

Kantian Ethics Summary

Different between the Categorical and the Hypothetical Imperatives
Various formulations of the Categorical Imperative
Kant’s understanding of universalisation of maxims
Kant’s theory of duty
Kant’s theory of the moral law, good will and sonnum bonnum
Priori moral will = sense of ought

Kant’s key work

Groundworks of the metaphysics and morals

Kant Biography

• Spent his whole life in the Kongigsberg

• Apart of the European enlightenment - attempt to go beyond authority and superstition to deal with the world on the basis of human reason

• Strict Lutheran upbringing

• Strict education

• Appointed Professor of Logic and Metaphysics

• Creature of habit - clock

• Reason = root of morality

KANTS MAIN PRINCIPLES

1. Dont treat others as only means - treat them as ends within themselves, they have their own moral worth

2. Fight for freedom → “Freedom is the facility which engages other facility” - moral laws allow us to be autonomous agents (we should use our freedom to engage in ration and free thought.)
   Thus, develop → enlarge opportunities → more choices.
   We are not free out of human passion, must be under moral human laws

3. Respect animals → “He who is cruel to animals will become hard with men.” : treat animals with dignity are not means to an end. 2012 Cambridge, animals have Cambridge

4. Act from duty → “An action, to have moral worth, must be from a sense of duty.” : Duties by duties sake. Morality = pure, rational will. Smiling based on duty = more meaningful than smiling out of duty
   Moral law: abide to our morality by the application of reason.

5. Have your own moral law → “[…]the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.” Apply universalism, if you don’t want x to happen to you, don’t do x to others.

6. Never lie → “By a lie, a man throws away and as it were annihilates his dignity as a man.”
   Sonnum bonnum → not allowed to make decision in somebodies place, make a world without immoral lies.

7. Become worthy of happiness → “Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we make ourselves worth of happiness.” ABSOLUTE moral obligations. Follow all = worthy of happiness.

8. Do not base morality on religion → “Nothing is divine but what is agreeable to reason.” Saw social cohesion to religion - morality is like maths, never impose on right/wrong

9. Do not let people step on you → “One who makes himself a worm cannot complain afterwards if people step on him.” Stand your ground, even if you don’t gain.

Moral Obligation

Kant’s key issue is how we discover a rational basis for one’s sense of duty - and from that, to devise a principle by which one could distinguish between right and wrong

Like Aristotle, Kant believed that knowledge begins with experience with practical reason

Postulate-based theory: put forward a concept/idea which allows things to work

Moral Will

Kant was fascinated by the sense of a moral will - he said that he was filled with “the starry heavens above and the moral law within.”

Believed this would be a priori moral will (sense of ‘ought)

The Good Will

Inherent good is to act with duty - season for intrinsic good, Kant didn’t believe any outcome was inherently good: pleasure/happiness could come from the most evil acts

Didn’t believe in ‘good’ characteristic traits, as ingenuity, intelligence, courage etc. could be used for evil

Used the term good to describe the good will, which he meant the resolve to act purely in accordance with one’s duty

Believed that when using reason, an individual could work out what one’s duty was

GOOD WILL + DUTY = A MORAL ACTION

This is the opposite of Hume’s argument - that morality is only based in making people happy and fulfilling their desires

Two types of imperative

1. Hypothetical: relies on outcome, thus meaning it’s emotional based. “If x, then y…”: cannot be good as true moral reasoning would have the same outcomes every time.

2. Categorical: absolute, must follow. Duty for duty’s sake - no conditions attached. True moral reasoning would reach the same conclusions everytime

1st Formulation

Universality: can the action be universalised?

2nd Formulation

Is it using people as ends in themselves?

3rd Formulation

Are our actions based on how society is ought to be, or how it is? We should live as if we belonged to a kingdom of ends

Butcher example from Kant

Two butchers in a town, one of them desires for increased trade for subsequent increased profits, good reputation and turnover - in order to achieve this he sells only the best meat etc

Other butcher does the same, but believes that he ought to, no other motive, unconditional produce

Differences in categoricals

The Lying Promise

Man in debts asks to borrow money from a friend knowing he cannot pay him back. If he universalises this, he realizes that society will fall apart as nobody will trust one another. Using his friend as a means to an end

Man’s duty to tell his friend the truth which can be universalised and he would recognise that this is how everybody ought to behave

Rawl’s veil of ignorance

Develops Kant’s kingdom of ends - imagine that we were to decide the rules for society before we know our place in it
Inevitably, ban racism and homophobia and other forms of discrimination. Because we do not know whether we might be black or gay or apart of these groups of minorities

Axe Murderer

We are morally culpable - carry out good according to reason

If your friend is murdered you arent responsible as you only do the right thing

…However, if you lied about where theyre hiding, and the murderer runs into your friend because of this, you would be morally responsible

Innate sense of moral law

Kant doesnt prove that we are free - rather presumed that we could act morally and for this to be the course we must be free

Must be a God/life after death, otherwise morality would make no sense

• Morality is contingent to a God

• Why have morality if it just ends

• Wont be fulfilled in this world

Sonnum Bonnum

Kant believes we live in a fair universe, argued there must be a sense of ought which we all experience

Postulates a higher good which is the end product of all our dutiful actions