Introduction Flashcards
What was an important of goal of Kants
An important goal Kant shared with other enlightenment thinkers was to bring religion and ethics within the boundary of reason, not faith
What did Kant beleive it meant to be human
He claims that what it means to be human is to be a ‘rational agent’, which means to have reason and be able to make choices towards ends (goals). This moral law would tell us our duty.
What is the overview of Kantian ethics
Kantian ethics is ‘deontological’, meaning ‘duty-based’. Moral action depends on doing the right action with the right intention, regardless of their consequences.
What was Kants approach to Duty and goodwill
For Kant, a Good will is held by a person who has the right intention when performing their duty. Once we have used our reason to figure out our duty, we should then act purely out of a sense of duty.
We should leave out personal feelings/desires and just do ‘duty for duty’s sake’
An example of Kants approach to duty and goodwill
if it is our duty to give money to charity, we should do it because it is our duty, not because we feel sympathy. That would be acting in accordance with duty but not out of duty.
What does Kant beleive is the only morally valid motivation for an action
The only morally valid motivation for an action is respect for the moral law. It’s not wrong to act on our desires in accordance with duty, but it can’t be morally right.
How does Kant illustrate his beleifs on the morally valid motivation for an action
Kant illustrates with a shopkeeper who lowers their prices to attract more customers and one who does the same action but out of a sense of fairness to their customers. Only the latter has a good will.
What is the categorical imperative
something we have a duty to always do (you should do X)
What is the hypothetical imperative
A hypothetical imperative is a moral action that a rational will adopts for reasons other than duty (you should do X if you want Y).
However, we have a moral duty to follow the universal moral law categorically, i.e., regardless of our desires.
What does Contradiction in conception mean
This means that we should only act on an ethical principle if it is logically possible for everyone to act on it. This is the test of universalizability.
What is meant by the maxim of your will
The maxim of your will is the moral statement of what you want to do. The test if whether you can rationally will that everyone do what you want to do.
Contradiction in will.
A maxim like “always refuse help from others” does not lead to a contradiction in conception. It is technically possible for everyone to act on it. However, Kant thought maxims like this could not be universalised because they contradicted our rational will to achieve ends.
The second formulation of the categorical imperative
Kant says ‘Always treat persons, whether others or in yourself, always as an end, never as a means’. This essentially means ‘don’t use people, or abuse yourself’.
The third formulation of the categorical imperative
This formulation is not really a test like the first two, but a reminder to always act on the moral law. If everyone followed Kant’s ethics we would live in a‘kingdom of ends’, a world of rational beings where everyone was treated as an end.
Kant argued we should behave as if we did live in that world. We must not put aside the moral law simply because others might not be following it.
