3. Kant: Duty Flashcards
Kant’s example of someone showing uttermost duty + book
someone who ‘longs for death and still preserves life without loving it - not from inclination or from fear but from duty’ Kant ‘Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals’
this is an extreme duty as it is done at a cost to the self
taxonomy
classification
Kant’s view on human nature
Kant viewed human nature as being contrary to reason.
However duty saves us from self delusion - Human beings perform duties despite themselves not because of themselves.
What did Allen Wood do
created a list of duties to perform as moral agents e.g. against suicide for an animal being / and against lying for a moral being
what did Kant respect quote
Kant - ‘Life… cherished for the good that we can do deserves the highest respect’
what is ‘duty’
Acting morally according to the good regardless of consequences
what Is morality determined by in KE
The intention behind actions - deontological.
Kant argues that individuals have a moral duty to act according to principles that could be universally applied, regardless of the specific consequences that may arise.
what does Kant think about consequentialist/ teleological ethical theories
Kant criticizes consequentialist approaches for their uncertainty, arguing that morality should be grounded in rational principles and universal laws rather than subjective evaluations of outcomes.
what is a maxim
Maxims are moral principles that can be deduced by all rational human beings.
E.g lying is wrong
what did Kant say about Trust, the will, and good will
- Humans have natural instincts which lead to selfish acts
- On the other hand they have rational minds which help them realise that there are moral principles (maxims) that ought to control human behaviour
- Humans become torn (similar to id and ego) and become uncertain of what moral decision to make
- The moral agent must trust their decision making and not be controlled by emotional impulses - even when they seem morally good. E.g. sympathy love or white lies.
- It is the human will that makes choices in life and drives humans forward allowing them to make moral laws which rightly govern society, using practical reason
what is the summun bonum and what does it consist of
The “Summum Bonum” is the highest good or ultimate end of human life.
may be impossible to achieve as moral worthiness and happiness are so often in conflict
According to Kant, the highest good consists of: moral worthiness and happiness.
what is moral worthiness
based on their adherence to the moral law, which is expressed through the categorical imperative. -
what is happiness
satisfaction of an individual’s desires and inclinations.
While Kant believed that happiness was important, he also believed that it should be subordinate to moral worthiness.
views on god?
The only superntaural-being powerful enough to bring about Summum Bonum is God.
As Summum Bonum clearly does not happen in this life, God must bring it about in an after life. There has to be a Heaven with God in which all people are moral and happy.
Most importantly ethics and morality for Kant does not come from God- it is not revealed by God. It comes from reason and the moral law.
views on teleology
The consequences of an action should not be the basis of a moral action.
Yet ‘the kingdom of ends’ is and inbuilt goal to aspire to.
