Duty Ethics Flashcards
Kantian ethics aka
Duty ethics
Deontological ethics aka
Duty ethics
Duty ethics invented by
Emmanuel Kant
Kantian ethics in a nutshell
An act has moral value when the will is perfectly aligned with duty
Kantian ethics are universal (T/F)
T
Morality relates to ___ not ___
purity of will, consequences of an action
Will
A faculty of the mind
Socrates made ___ intellect and the will
no separation
A person’s will cannot be trained (T/F)
F
Socrates argued shortcomings in our action ____
arise from incomplete knowledge
The will ____ bodily actions
animates our
Most people only pay attention to their will when
they’re in a crucible
Kant believed we should rely on emotions in making moral decisions (T/F)
F
According to Kantian ethics, an act has moral value when the will is perfectly aligned with duty (T/F)
T
Kant believed actions should be motivated by duty alone (T/F)
T
Which of the following is true?
1) the responsibilities of duty are in all rational beings
2) duties are established at a communal level, allowing for variation across cultures
3) duties are derived from lessons learned in experience
4) none of the above
( 1 )
Kant believed morality can be deduced from consequences alone (T/F)
F (reason alone)
a priori
knowledge gained independent of experience
a priori example
“all bachelors are single men”
a posteriori example
“the water in the lake is blue”
Difference between a priori and a posteriori parallels that of the difference between
the formal and the material
the material
a specific situation
a universal moral law must be
a priori (not depend on experience/specifics)
the formal principle
an unchanging truth
Kant analyzes the divorce form ___ and ___
duty and inclinations/desires
A will is good when ___
it is aligned with duty or obedience to moral law
Maxim
a subjective principle that governs action
Which statements can be ascribed to duty?
1) informs us of what we should do in each situation
2) obedience to the moral law
3) constructed from what we feel in each situation
4) good only when aligned with duty
1,2,4
Kant believed that fundamental moral principles must be fluid to respond to the different situations people encounter (T/F)
F
Which are true of a maxim?
1) Related to the individual
2) Shouldnt admit any situational exceptions
3) A subjective principle
4) Used to justify one’s actions
1,2,3,4
Why must maxim’s not admit of situational exceptions?
This would render them too particular to fit into Kant’s universalist system
A maxim is a universal principle that governs action (T/F)
F
Contradicting the categorical imperative is immoral (T/F)
T
Hypothetical Imperative
Follows an if then format (with room for choice)
Categorical imperative
A goal for all rational beings of a certain category. It CANNOT be rejected
When Kant uses the term categorical, he means…
applicable to all rational beings
According to Kant, how should a maxim be tested?
Using the categorical imperative
