🟣| Morality - Kantian Ethics

Question 1

Key Features

3

Answer 1

• Deontology (Duty)
• Sovereignty of Reason
• The Good Will

Question 2

Key Features:

Deontology

4

Answer 2

• Consequences are irrelevant when judging morality as they are unpredictable
• Moral worth of an act should derive from something intrinsic to it as opposed to extrinsic
• Morality of an action is held within the motive behind it
• For Kant, the moral motive is duty

Question 3

Key Features:

Duty

4

Answer 3

• The moral obligation to do something simply because it is the right thing to do, even if it goes against our personal desires or interests
• Actions driven by duty have the highest moral value because they are guided by moral principles like the categorical imperative
• In Kantian Ethics acting out of duty is preferred over acting from our inclinations, which is based on personal desires, emotions or self-interest.
• Kant argued that inclinations don’t hold the same moral value as duty because they are not based on what is universally right, but on personal feelings.

Question 4

Duty:

Shopkeeper Example

2

Answer 4

• A shopkeeper gives the correct change to his customers because he wants repeat business is acting from inclination because he is acting out of self-interest - not moral
• A shopkeeper who gives the correct change to his customers because it is the right thing to do is acting out of duty - moral

Question 5

Key Features:

Sovereignty of Reason

2

Answer 5

• Reason is better than experience and emotion when deciding what is moral
• Experiences and emotions vary from person to person, but humans are rational beings, so when making decisions we should be able to use our logic to come to the same conclusions

Question 6

Key Features:

The Good Will

5

Answer 6

• Foundation of Kantian Ethics
• The goodness of an action comes from something intrinsic to the act itself, which must be something good in itself
• Our will is our ability to cause or prevent something from happening intentionally. This goes beyond wanting to make something happen, but our commitment to doing what needs to be done to make it happen.
• In summary: our will and want to do our duty.
• If we act based on The Good Will, this will ‘shine through like a jewel’ and cannot be corrupted no matter the consequences, good or bad.

Question 7

Imperatives

2

Answer 7

• Hypothetical
• Categorical

Question 8

Imperatives:

Hypothetical

3

Answer 8

• A conditional rule that tells you what to do if you want to reach a certain goal.
• Example: ‘if I want to be a doctor, I need to go to medical school’
• Not moral as they are based on consequences, which Kant rejects, and are not universal to all.

Question 9

Imperatives:

Categorical

2

Answer 9

• Tell you what you should do no matter what you want
• Should be followed by everyone in the same situation

Question 10

Categorical Imperative Test Formulations

2

Answer 10

• Universal Law
• End in Itself

Question 11

Categorical Imperative Test:

Universal Law

Answer 11

• ‘Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.’
• You should only follow maxims that we want everyone to follow in all circumstances

Question 12

Universal Law:

Application Steps

4

Answer 12

• Locate the maxim
• Universalise maxim to apply to all scenarios
• Contradiction in conception - if we lived in a world where everyone followed the maxim, is it logically possible?
• Contradiction in will - would we want to live in a world where everyone followed this maxim?

Question 13

Universal Law:

Perfect Duty

2

Answer 13

• A duty that must always be followed
• If a maxim is a contradiction in conception, we have a perfect duty to never follow it

Question 14

Universal Law:

Imperfect Duty

2

Answer 14

• A duty that should be followed when possible, but allows for exceptions when not possible
• If a maxim is a contradiction in will, we have an imperfect duty to never follow it

Question 15

Categorical Imperative Test:

End in Itself

3

Answer 15

• ‘So act as to treat humanity, both in your own person, and in the person of every other, always at the same time as an end, never simply as a means.’
• Using someone as a mere means is when you use someone to achieve a goal without their consent, treating them like an object
• Treating someone as an end in themself is when you use someone to achieve a goal but with their awareness and consent, whilst respecting their humanity

Question 16

End in Itself:

Perfect Duty

Answer 16

We should never do something that uses someone as a mere means to an end, so we have a perfect duty to never do anything that involves this

Question 17

End in Itself

Imperfect Duty

Answer 17

To fully respect someone as an end in themselves we must respect their goals, but we don’t have to do this all the time, so this therefore becomes an imperfect duty