Kant: Ethics

Does Kant believe that “practical anthropology” (moral relativism") is a good guide to morality? Kant does not believe that "practical anthropology" or moral relativism is a good guide to morality. He emphasizes the importance of Categorical Imperatives, which provide a universal framework for moral decision-making. According to Kant, actions must be based on maxims that can be consistently willed as universal laws, thereby rejecting the notion of moral relativism.

Categorical Imperatives provide a universal framework for moral decision-making. They emphasize that actions must be based on maxims that can be consistently willed as universal laws, thus rejecting the notion of moral relativism.

Categorical Imperatives

• Categorical vs. Hypothetical imperatives

  • Both commands of reason

  • Hypothetical imperatives tell us what we need to do to achieve our goals

    • We are rationally required to obey hypothetical imperatives, but only because we have certain desires

  • Categorical imperatives: commands of reason that apply universally

    • No matter what your individual goals are, categorical imperatives still apply to you

    • All moral duties are categorical imperatives: they apply to us as rational beings

• Because categorical imperatives are commands of reason, Kant thinks we can grasp them through reason alone

  • Therefore, we must be able to prove the truth of every moral rule

Basic rules of Kantian Ethics

• Principle of Universalizability: Act only according to a universalizable maxim

• Principle of Humanity: Always treat a human being (yourself included) as an end, and never as a mere means.

Principle of Universalizability

• Principle of Universalizability: Act only according to a maxim that is universalizable

  • Maxim: a “general intention” under which 1 act. Every maxim consists in:

    • A general statement of the thing you ar about to do, and

    • Why you are about to do it

  • A maxim is an intention. Everybody dictates their own maxims.

• 3-part test of universalizability:

  • Formulate your maxim clearly-state what you intend to do, and why you intend to do it.

  • Imagine a world in which everyone supports and acts on your maxim.

  • Then ask: Can the goal of my action be achieved in such a world?

The Principle of Humanity

• “Always treat a rational being as an end, and never as a mere means.”

  • Rational beings are the source of reasons for action

  • Reasons for action give value to the world

  • Therefore, rational beings are the source of value, and so deserve to be treated as valuable in themselves

  • Treating others as valuable means respecting their autonomous ability to generate and act on reasons for action

• The principle of humanity follows from the principle of universalizability

  • The maxim “treat other people as a mere means to one’s own ends” cannot be universalized without you yourself (and your goals) being treated as a mere means

An argument for The Principle of Humanity

• All rational beings formulate the ends of their action.

• When we use others as a mere means to our ends, we are acting as if their rational ends are less important than our ends.

• But we have no rational reason for thinking our ends have a privileged status over others’ rational ends, just because they’re ours.

• So acting in a way that treats others as a mere means is always irrational