kant

Question 1

how is kantian ethics deontological

Answer 1

• actions are right or wrong in themselves
• morality is a matter of duty (doesnt depend on our feelings)

Question 2

what is a maxim

Answer 2

a personal principle or rule that guides decisions

Question 3

quote for the categorical imperative

Answer 3

“act only on thst maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become universal law”

Question 4

how is moral knowledge known

Answer 4

through reason

Question 5

what is a hypothetical imperative vs a categorical imperitive

Answer 5

• do x if you want y - conditional as depends if you want y
• do x - unconditional and always apply

Question 6

what did kant view moral law as

Answer 6

categorical

Question 7

what are the three tests for the cat imp (to be a good law)

Answer 7

• universal law - can action be logically universalized (false promise - borrrow £10 and promise to pay back but lying, k says cant universalize making a lying promise if it suited you so not right )
• persons as ends - does it treat people as ends in themselves or use them “always treat humanity …never simply as means but always at the same time as an end”
• the kingdom of ends - could the action be permitted in a hypothetical place where everyone treats everyone as an end

Question 8

what is the summum bonum

Answer 8

an ultimate end that humans seek (highest good) which is impossible to achieve during their life time so must be an afterlife and a god to provide opp to reach

Question 9

what are kants three postulates

Answer 9

three things necessary for his theory to work:
- be free to make decs - gen moral decs can only be made with it
- must be afterlife to allow sunnum bonum to be reached - must ensure correct happiness beyond this life
- g must exist to judge if reach afterlife or not - not a christ one and doesnt rely on g

Question 10

how is kantian ethics autonomous

Answer 10

• doesnt rely on g
• have ability to get right answers ourselves

Question 11

general criticism of kantian ethics

Answer 11

• cat imp is inflexible and unjust, doesnt take into account the context of the sit
• too much emphasis on reason, represses other human moral emotions and therefore discriminates against less rational people (pojman - emphasis k places on reason implies people who have better ability to reason are more valuable)
• unnatural - rejects happiness as a goal of morality when it should be one and fails to deal with clashing duties

Question 12

args against the arg taht kantian ethics is so reliant on reason it rejects the importance of other factors (symp,emp,love) in moral dm

(Reasons why feelings are nec and reason alone isn’t good enough (against Kant)

Answer 12

• feelings motivate moral responses (e.g a sense of compassion for someone in distress) and acting in a rational way distances us from these feelings
• emotions are a fundamental part of human experience and the most valuable things in life
• there is a limit to human reason - barth - require g rev to gain truth due to fall and orig sin

Question 13

args for the arg taht kantian ethics is so reliant on reason it rejects the importance of other factors (symp,emp,love) in moral dm

Answer 13

• prevents justice from being corrupt as not based on emotion which allows a consistent and fair application of the law, allows us to think beyond family and friendship loyalties
• allows for autonomy, as allows people to reason themselves rather than emposing ethical ideas
• have a fixed human nature and so leads to universal concs on cat imps

Question 14

args for the arg kantian ethics provides a helpful method of moral dm

Answer 14

• allows everyone to be taken into consideration equally in dm and prevents others from being used for personal gain (use as an end in themselves) - supports human rights as all people have intrinsic value
• system of cat imp prevents bad moral maxims being made (3 tests)
• offers clear moral rules due to being deontological and preventing emotions from influencing decs which encourages fairness

Question 15

args against the arg kantian ethics provides a helpful method of moral dm

Answer 15

• too rigid as doesnt allow exceptions depending on the context of the situation e.g lying)
• constant - are times when duties may clash with another (axeman - duty to tell tryth and protect life) but k leaves no guidance on which to prioritise
• ignores consequences which sometimes do matter - j.s mill - by using cat imp k becomes consequetialist as are considering the affects of universalizing maxim
• too abstract and theoretical (kingdom of ends) doesnt work in real world

Question 16

args agaisnt arg that an ethcial judgement can be based on the extent to which duty is best served

Answer 16

• its not always clear what the duty is, often is conflicting duties so cant base dec on it
• consequences do matter even if follow duty could still lead to harmful result
• humans are easily influenced by emotions and others so reason behind dec making could be wrong but shouldnt ignore emotions
• should value and think for yourself over duty

Question 17

args for arg that an ethcial judgement can be based on the extent to which duty is best served

Answer 17

• if are aiming to follow duty then have good intentions as doing right thing for right reason
• duty allows each person to be valued individually (cat imp)
• avoids bad consequences as a focus on cons can lead to harmful actions

Question 18

args against arg that kantian ethics is too abstract to be applicable to practical moral dm

Answer 18

• allows people to not be used as a means to an end and places value in people which can help with issues like exploitation
• allows for ratioanl unbiased ecs as treats people equally and with respect
• doesnt rely on relig - more relevant
• helps with moral accountability and integrity wehn do something wrong

Question 19

args for arg that kantian ethics is too abstract to be applicable to practical moral dm

Answer 19

• doesnt understand how humans work, cant be expected to care about every individual the exact same (fam v stranger)
• idealistic - assumes everyone will act to fufil duty but in reality not the case - profit driven soc = exploitation for profit - not treating as ends themselves
• rules have to be universal and not swayed by emotion whic is difficult as emotions are important and shouldnt be excluded