K Strengths + Weaknesses Flashcards
Strength: Universal Law
The principle of universal law proves useful in moral decision making.
Bares similarities to the golden rule.
Treats each person equally and stops us making ourselves a special case.
Helps solve moral dilemmas.
Strength: No biases
The appeal to concepts such as reason and duty make K’s ethics impartial and less prone to personal bias.
Strength: Intrinsic values/rights
Kantian ethics gives intrinsic value/respect to a person.
Enabling the concept of rights.
Favourable in contrast with theories like until that describe rights as ‘nonsense on stilts’ (Bentham)
Weaknesses: Outcomes matter
Intuitively outcomes and consequences do matter.
If i tell the mad axe man where the guy is, i still live with the guilt of his death.
Suggesting K is wrong to ignore outcomes.
Weaknesses: Too abstract and hypothetical
Offering perfect solutions based on a hypothetical kingdom off ends.
In reality, people live immorally, and make unethical decisions daily, whereas Kantian ethics relies on everyone having perfect morality.
Doesn’t work in dilemmas such as who to save, out of two ppl.
Weaknesses: Shows what we ought do, rather than what we…
Should.
The ethic doesn’t really guide anyone through moral decisions but simply says what could work, if applied universally.
Strength: Clear fixed guidelines
+ counter
Being absolutist, it offers clear fixed guidelines, meaning we’re able to apply these ethics.
C/A: This presents inflexibility, while stealing is wrong, a starving child should surely be able to steal from a mansion?
Strength: Secularity
+ counter
Unlike Natural Law, no requirements to believe in God.
C/A: K doesn’t totally escape the idea of God.
Basing ‘summon bonum’ on the idea that God will reward those who do their duty in the afterlife.
In K’s defence, he’d argue this a consequence of doing duty, rather than a motivation.
Strength: Rational + not emotional
+ counter
K’s ethics are rational and not based on changing emotions, hence the well-reasoned moral decisions.
C/A: Augustine would challenge this on the grounds of our fallen human nature.
Additionally, some emotions such as compassion can be very powerful.
E.g. Giving to charity and not feeling like it?
Weaknesses: Duty above all?
Placing duty above everything else seems cold and inhuman.
As it gives no place for actions which are a result of love and compassion.
Weaknesses: Consequentialistic nature
Human nature asks that we consider our consequences before every action.
Weaknesses: Only works if everyone…
Does it.
Kantian ethics require all human being too fully commit to the cause for it to work.
Otherwise it collapses.
Weaknesses: ‘Is’ isn’t the same as ‘ought’
Applying the notion that because something is good we ought to do it, shows weakness.
E.g. K said, ‘a dog is a good pet’ follwing ‘is’ - ‘ought’ he would say ‘a dog is a good pet so you ought to have one’
