Kantian Ethics

• Kant's theory is deontological meaning that...?

  It is only concerned with the moral law, or duty, that makes a particular action right or wrong regardless of the consequences.
• For Kant moral statements are priori synthetic. This means that...?


  You can know something is moral without experience and it can be checked with experience - knowable through experience and verifiable through experience.
• Kant on Good Will (Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, 1785)

  "Nothing in the world—indeed nothing even beyond the world—can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except a good will"
• something is only good when someone carries out their duty to do it. Goodness is based on doing the correct thing.
• Categorical Imperatives

  The categorical imperative helps us to know what actions are obligatory and which are forbidden. It tells us what we 'ought' to do. They are laws whose forces are absolute and undeniable e.g. 'do not murder'. Stronger instructions than hypothetical imperatives e.g. if you want to get thin then eat less cake.
• Kant suggested three key formulations to categorical imperatives

  1. Universalisability

  2. Treating people as ends in themselves

  3. Kingdom of Ends
• Universalisability


  Always perform actions that may be made rules for everyone.
• Kant on universalisability (Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, 1785)


  Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.
• Ends in themselves

  Always treat people as ends in themselves, not as means to an end.
• Kant on treating people as ends in themselves (Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, 1785)


  "Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means."
• Kingdom of Ends

  Living in the kingdom of Ends is pretending you live as a member of (and as a leader of) the Kingdom of Ends where all people live as if these rules are totally valid
• Kant on the Kingdom of Ends (Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, 1785)


  "Every rational being must so act as if he were through his maxim always a legislating member in the universal kingdom of ends."
• The Summum Bonum

  Kant noted that if we are to do our duty then we must be able to be rewarded for our actions. He talked about the summum bonum - the place where our happiness and our virtue (good actions through doing our duty) come together. This is obviously not something that can be found on earth - we see bad people living happy lives and good people living unhappy lives - therefore the summum bonum must be able to be achieved in the afterlife.
• Postulates of Pure Practical Reason

  Kant hypothesised three things that were necessary for his theory to work, but which rationally must exist.
• The three postulates of pure practical reason

  We must be free to be able to make decisions.

  
  

  There must be an afterlife (or immortality) for us to be able to achieve the summum bonum.

  
  

  God must exist in order to be a fair judge to bring us to the afterlife or not. This is why Kant is referred to in discussions about the Moral Argument for the Existence of God.
• Strengths for Kantian Ethics

  It is universal so everyone is treated equally and given equal value.

  
  

  Human life is given particular value.

  
  

  You have particular rules to follow - you know where you are with the theory.

  
  

  It promotes good will, which is beneficial for society

  
  

  There are no references to the future or to consequences, which cannot be known.
• Weaknesses of Kantian Ethics

  It does not seem to account for the complexities of life - universalisability cannot work as no two situations are the same. For example, would you tell a known murderer where his victim was? (Kant says we have to.)

  
  

  It does not account for any particular duty we may have for certain people (e.g. family).

  
  

  It does not account for times when two absolutes clash.

  
  

  Some would say that sometimes human life has to be sacrificed to stop others or more people being killed or suffering.
• Kant on Enlightenment


  "Enlightenment is the emergence of man from his self imposed infancy. Infancy is the ability to use one's reason.."
• Kant on the importance of free will in morals

  "In morals, the proper and inestimable worth of an absolutely good will consists precisely in the freedom of the principle of action from all influences."
• Kant on the moral law within

  "Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe... the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me."
• Kant on the value of a good will

  "good will shines forth like a precious jewel. It is impossible to conceive anything at all in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good without qualification, except good will."
• Kant, defining the Categorical Imperative

  "if the action is represented as good in itself... then the imperative is categorical"
• Kant on treating humans as ends in themselves

  "so act that you treat humanity, both in your own person and in the person of every other human being, never merely as a means, but always at the same time as an end."
• Kant on the Kingdom of Ends

  "so act as if you were through your maxim a law-making member of the Kingdom of Ends"
• Who created the theory and when?

  The German philosopher Immanuel Kant in the 18th century

  
• What are they key assumptions of Kant's theory?

  - We are autonomous individuals who have free choice and reason

  
  

  - We discover morality through reason

  
  

  - There are universal moral laws that are exist a priori and we discover these, we do not create them

  
  

  - It is both deontological and teleological
• Duty, goodwill and maxims

  - Kant believes we must follow our duty regardless of the consequences

  
  

  - He thinks the good will is the only things that is morally good and that a person of good will is not motivated by self interest or anything but duty

  
  

  - He believes that discovery of the moral law starts with maxims which are subjective moral principles that can be deduced by all rational human beings and developed into moral laws. E.g the law of libel has come from the maxim that lying is wrong
• Categorical Imperative

  - The Categorical Imperative is Kant's way of finding out whether a maxim is morally right

  
  

  - It has three tests to test a maxim, these are;

  1. The universal law principle

  2. The principle of humanity as an end not a means

  3. The principle of the universal kingdom of ends
• The universal law principle

  - 'Act only on that maxim whereby which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law'

  
  

  - This is the idea that for an action to be moral it must be able to be consistently universalised meaning it would be acceptable in every situation regardless of the consequences

  
  

  - An example of this is breaking a promise. If everyone broke their promises then no one would believe a promise and the concept would vanish. He calls this a 'contradiction in nature' as the very nature of promising is destroyed and the action becomes self-contradictory
• The principle of humanity as an end not a means

  - This is the idea that we must not use others in pursuit of an ethical end

  
  

  - An example of this would be rape being wrong as it involves someone using another person purely for their own pleasure

  
  

  - He thought it was contradictory to do something that devalues humans while seeking to do something for the good of humankind
• The principle of the universal kingdom of ends

  - This is where Kant imagines a society of purely rational agents that desire the same good

  
  

  - This society is what the moral laws are designed to achieve

  
  

  - A maxim is only acceptable if it pursues this society
• Hypothetical Imperative


  - These are commands that instead of being compulsory to obey (Categorical Imperative) are ought to be obeyed

  
  

  - It takes the form of 'if you want X, then you must do Y'

  
  

  - E.g. If we applied the categorical imperative to 'We can only eliminate poverty by removing debt in poor countries' then the universal principle would state that removing debt in all situations is wrong. The hypothetical imperative covers this by saying 'if we want to eliminate poverty, we ought to drop debts in poor countries
• Summum bonum


  - The highest good

  
  

  - This is the resolution of good and happiness

  
  

  - He believed a true moral being is both good and happy, and that because this is not always seen in the current life, it will be achieved in the afterlife
• Who created the theory and when?

  The German philosopher Immanuel Kant in the 18th century

  
• What are they key assumptions of Kant's theory?

  - We are autonomous individuals who have free choice and reason

  
  

  - We discover morality through reason

  
  

  - There are universal moral laws that are exist a priori and we discover these, we do not create them

  
  

  - It is both deontological and teleological
• Extreme duty

  - Duty that is done and rejects happiness as a basis for moral-decision making

  
  

  - E.g if a fire occurred on a row of houses and you heard someone calling out for help in a nearby house, but your mother was in a further house, Kant would say that preserving life is universal therefore you shouldn't discriminate by going for your mother who is further away
• Duty, goodwill and maxims

  - Kant believes we must follow our duty regardless of the consequences

  
  

  - He thinks the good will is the only things that is morally good and that a person of good will is not motivated by self interest or anything but duty

  
  

  - He believes that discovery of the moral law starts with maxims which are subjective moral principles that can be deduced by all rational human beings and developed into moral laws. E.g the law of libel has come from the maxim that lying is wrong
• Categorical Imperative


  - The Categorical Imperative is Kant's way of finding out whether a maxim is morally right

  
  

  - It has three tests to test a maxim, these are;

  1. The universal law principle

  2. The principle of humanity as an end not a means

  3. The principle of the universal kingdom of ends
• Strengths of Kantian ethics

  - It is deontological meaning it doesn't take the consequence of an action into account, which can often be hard to predict

  
  

  - Emphasises that we are autonomous individuals meaning we have the right to choose

  
  

  - Eradicates bias (e.g. not helping certain groups of people) when making decisions as the law needs to be universal
• The universal law principle

  - 'Act only on that maxim whereby which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law'

  
  

  - This is the idea that for an action to be moral it must be able to be consistently universalised meaning it would be acceptable in every situation regardless of the consequences

  
  

  - An example of this is breaking a promise. If everyone broke their promises then no one would believe a promise and the concept would vanish. He calls this a 'contradiction in nature' as the very nature of promising is destroyed and the action becomes self-contradictory