Topic 5 (Year 12): Kantian ethics Flashcards
(27 cards)
Purpose definition.
End goal.
Duty definition.
Things we do because we know we must.
Deontological ethics definition.
Concerned with the motives and the actions.
Moral law definition.
The way we behave because we know we must, the only way of fulfilling our duty.
Maxim definition.
Law or rule, according to the moral law.
Categorical imperative definition.
Something you will definitely do because you have to.
Hypothetical imperative definition.
Something you might do if you have to.
Is kantian ethics a prior or a posteriori?
A priori.
Who devised kantian ethics?
Immanuel Kant.
Is kantian ethics religious or secular?
Kant lived in a Christian worl but his ethics are not Christian, though Christianity can be applied.
What was the name of the 18th century European movement based on scientific discovery that Kant was writing during?
The Enlightenment.
What did Kant say morality should be based on?
Pure reason - a prioi.
Why did Kant believe in a priori reasoning?
He argued that our senses can be wrong and all a posteriori knowledge is merely a perception based on senses.
What was the name of Kant’s book and what year was it published?
‘Groundwork of a Metaphysics of Morals’ - 1785.
What does Kant’s book attempt to do?
It attempts to base morality on reason as opposed to feelings, consequences, or religion.
What does reducto ad absurdum mean?
Taking an argument to the extreme.
When is good will good or bad?
Good will is not good as a means to an end and bad as a means to another, and is not good if somebody happens to want it and bad if they don’t want it.
What did Kant say on the importance of duty?
“Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.” The only good reason for doing a good deed is because of duty.
What is the Highest Good?
When good will and duty come together we can achieve the Highest Good; he called this the Summum Bonum, although he thinks this is only achievable in the afterlife.
Why does Kant think we should follow categorical imperatives?
These are done out of duty and because the action is good in itself, not because of the consequences it produces.
What is Kant’s first formulation of the categorical imperative? (3 points - name, quote, explanation)
- Universality.
- “Always act in such a way that can also will that the maxim of your action should become a universal law.”
- If you cannot make a rule universal or live in a world while this rule is in place, it’s not a categorical imperative.
What is Kant’s second formulation of the categorical imperative? (3 points - name, quote, explanation)
- Respect for humanity.
- “Act so that you treat humanity, both in your own person and in that of another, always as an end and never merely as a means to an end.”
- Everyone should be treated equally, everyone is valuable in themselves, we are all free and equal members of a shared moral community, people should not just be used in order to achieve something else.
What is Kant’s third formulation of the categorical imperative? (3 points - name, quote, explanation)
- Kingdom of ends.
- “Act as though we were all decision making members of the kingdom of ends.”
- All rational humans should be able to conlude the same moral laws; culmination of the first two formulations; we should all regard ourselves as living in a community (universal kingdom) and that all people deserve respect as rational and free individuals; if all people treated each other in this way and follow the categorical imperative, society would be a much better place to live in, in whcih all people can be free.
What is Kant’s first postulate?
Humans having free will, which means they need to be able to take accountability for their own actions due to their duties.
