EL5

• Deontology

  • Derived from the Greek work deon (duty)
  • Emphasis on the relationship between duty and morality.
  • An action is considered morally right, not because the outcome of the action is good, but because of some characteristic of the action itself.
• Natural Law Theory

  • Thought to be something inherent in the universe and humanity.
  • Reason being the essence of our nature can discover the laws necessary for human flourishing.
  • Morality is woven in the natural order of things.
  • The Stoics understood nature as referring to the natural order as a whole cosmic nature.
• Immanuel Kant

  • Critique of Pure Reason: argued that it is possible to have certain knowledge in the natural sciences and mathematics.
  • The Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals: analyzed the foundations of genuine morality.
• The Good Will

  • It is not our desires or inclinations that ground morality but our rational will.
  • The only thing that is good in itself is a good will.
  • One should do what is right because it is their duty to do so, simply because it is tight.
  • Happiness, honor, knowledge, and health are only morally valuable if accompanied by good will
• Acting from Duty: someone who acts with a good will does what is right, because it is their duty to do so, and for no other reason.
• Categorical Imperative

  • represented an action as necessary of itself without reference to another end.
  • Intuitive, immediate, and absolute injunctions that all rational agents understand by virtue of their rationality.
  • Principle that describes the sense of unconditional duty that lies within us. - Source of the moral law within.
• 1. Act only on that principle which can be a universal law.

  • Do unto others as we would want them to do unto us.
  • Logically consistent, our duties equal to those of everyone else.
• Maxim – the general rule in accordance with which the agents intend to act.
• 2. Do not use any person, including yourself, as only means.

  • Every human being has an inherent worth that emanates from the sheer possession of rationality.
  • When we manipulate other people to control their behavior, we are treating them as objects.
• 3. Act as a lawmaker of the kingdom of ends.

  • We as a community must be capable of determining the rules we have to live by.
  • Moral rules must be freely chosen by us.
• Kingdom of ends – a web of all rational beings held together by shared moral maxims.