Deontological Ethics Flashcards
Deontos?
Duty.
An ethic with absolutes based on reason.
There are categorical imperatives.
Being things be must do.
Kant was sympathetic to religion, but…
Believed ethics should not be based on religion.
Kant Universalisation
States that you should only do things that you would allow all people to do.
K’s place for animals?
Kant places animals below humans (Xian origins).
Yet, states we cannot use animals as tools.
We can eat them, but not use them for sport.
Cruelty of animals makes you beastial.
Key feature of K’s ethic is doing duties for…
Duty’s sake, regardless of any reward.
Kant states there is no reward for duty, yet…
Says there is an afterlife, and we are immortal.
Believes good deeds will be met with perfect happiness in heaven.
‘Summon Bonum’ =
The highest good.
Where virtue is rewarded by happiness.
K thinks we reach this in heaven.
Issues w/ duty: Putting feelings aside
The concept of duty demands that we put our feelings aside in order to do the right thing.
It can be a difficult task for many to put their own morals aside and trust ‘duty’.
Issues w/ duty: Conflicting duties
It is difficult to distinguish between which duty is the right choice in conflict.
A killer asks me to tell him where the man is.
If i say yes, he dies.
If i say no, I’m lying, and going against duty.
Issues w/ duty: Duty can be abused
In the Nuremberg trials Nazis states they were doing their duty.
They have misunderstood the theory itself, not the theory’s fault.
No one who understands Kantian ethics could justify nazism.
Three postulates?
The Three assumptions that must be in place for morality to function.
Three postulates: Free will?
If we aren’t genuinely free to do either the good thing or the evil thing then there can be no moral responsibility.
Three postulates: There is afterlife, we are immortal
Kant argues that morality requires the ‘summon bonum’ (highest good) to be achieved.
Where perfect virtue is rewarded by perfect happiness.
Doesn’t happen in this life but to say it ought to be achieved must mean it can.
Three postulates: God exists
In order for ‘Summum Bonum’ to actually occur there must be a God who ensures the justice of the universe.
