Kantian Deontological Ethics

Question 1

What distinction does Kant make between practical reason and theoretical reason?

Answer 1

Theoretical reason is how we use reason in science; practical reason is how we use reason to make decisions about what to do.

Question 2

What are three of Kant’s fundamental ethical beliefs?

Answer 2

• Each of us has a capacity to reason and can decide what is moral without relying on anyone else.
• Morality is the promotion and preservation of individual and collective freedom.
• Human beings can be rational and free, which is the basis of their unconditional worth.

Question 3

What is the basic approach Kant takes in his ethical project?

Answer 3

Identifying the most fundamental principles presupposed in common morality using an a priori method of rational reflection.

Question 4

What is the will

Answer 4

The will is the capacity to make non-impulsive decisions and to choose on the basis of law or
principles.

Question 5

What does Kant mean by ‘good will’?

Answer 5

-A disposition to adopt and act on the right sorts of principles that are objective and valid for everyone.

-a good will is the only thing that is good without qualification

Question 6

What is deontology in the context of Kantian ethics?

Answer 6

The study of morality understood in terms of duties; some actions are intrinsically right regardless of consequences.

Question 7

What is the difference between acting in accordance with duty and acting from duty?

Answer 7

You are moral only if you act from or out of duty, intending that your action conforms to an objective principle.

Question 8

What does Kant mean by autonomy in relation to moral law?

Answer 8

Each of us must give the laws to ourselves to ensure that our will is not determined by external forces.

Question 9

What is the Categorical Imperative?

Answer 9

The supreme principle by which a good will is directed, commanding a course of action unconditionally.

Question 10

What distinguishes hypothetical imperatives from categorical imperatives?

Answer 10

Hypothetical imperatives are conditional and based on desires, while categorical imperatives are unconditional and based on reason alone.

Question 11

What is the first form of the Categorical Imperative?

Answer 11

The Formula of the Universal Law: Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.

Question 12

What does a maxim represent in Kantian ethics?

Answer 12

A subjective practical principle held by an agent that describes the action as willed and indicates what the agent intends to do.

Question 13

What are the two tests to determine if a maxim can be willed as a universal law?

Answer 13

• The contradiction in conception test.
• The contradiction in will test.

Question 14

What does the contradiction in conception test assess?

Answer 14

Whether your maxim can be acted upon and willed universally without contradiction.

I will promise but not keep my promise, everyone will promise but not keep their promises

Question 15

What does the contradiction in will test assess?

Answer 15

Whether the ends of a maxim are obligatory for rational beings, thus ensuring the ability to achieve certain ends.

Question 16

What is the second form of the Categorical Imperative?

Answer 16

The Humanity Formula: Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means, but always at the same time as an end.

Question 17

What does treating humanity as an end in itself mean?

Answer 17

Respecting the capacity of individuals to set their own ends and not manipulating or coercing them.

Question 18

What is a universal law

Answer 18

A universal law (which Kant sometimes calls a ‘universal law of nature’) is an objective practical
principle that is valid for all rational agents wherever and whenever they live.

Question 19

Blank

Answer 19

Blank

Question 20

What does Kant mean by autonomy?

Answer 20

A special kind of freedom where individuals issue laws for all, independent of specific people.

Question 21

What are the Three Formulations of the Categorical Imperative?

Answer 21

Universal Law, Humanity, Kingdom of Ends.

Question 22

What is the main idea introduced in Kant’s Groundwork regarding the good will?

Answer 22

The good will is the only possible unconditioned good.

Question 23

What is the contradiction in conception test?

Answer 23

A test to determine if a maxim can be universalized without contradiction.

Question 24

True or False: According to Kant, consequences determine the moral value of an action.

Answer 24

False

Question 25

What is the first issue regarding kanthan ethics

Answer 25

Problems with applying the universal law formula Some non-universalisable maxims may be good or morally neutral.

Question 26

Fill in the blank: Kant argues that a rational will can be motivated only by a(n) _______.

Answer 26

[unconditioned rational principle]

Question 27

What does Kant claim about maxims that can be universalized?

Answer 27

They may be permissible but not necessarily duties.

Question 28

What is the third issue regarding kanthan ethics

Answer 28

-The possible value of certain motives and commitments -Only the motive of duty makes an action moral. -one person does something out of love, one does it out of duty, out of duty is moral out of love is not

Question 29

What is the fourth issue regarding kanthan deontological ethics?

Answer 29

-clashing/competing duties -Kant asserts that all duties are absolute, leading to potential conflicts. -I promised to meet someone, but see a struggling boy, I can help the boy (breaking my promise) or not help (keeping my promise)

Question 30

What is the fifth issue regarding kanthan deontological ethics?

Answer 30

-Morality is a system of hypothetical imperatives -Philippa Foot argues that moral rules are not categorical imperatives since they only apply if one has a moral purpose. She compares moral rules to rules of etiquette

Question 31

What is Kant's stance on lying to save a life in the murderer at the door scenario?

Answer 31

Kant argues that lying is always wrong.

Question 32

What is the distinction between logical consequences and contingent consequences in Kant's ethics?

Answer 32

Logical consequences must occur, while contingent consequences may or may not occur.

Question 33

What is the implication of Kant's anti-consequentialist stance?

Answer 33

The moral value of actions should not depend on their consequences.

Question 34

What does Kant require for an action to be considered a duty?

Answer 34

Both the acceptance of the maxim must be universalizable, and its rejection must not be.

Question 35

What is the second issue regarding Kant’s deontological ethics

Answer 35

-That consequences determine moral value -feels wrong to ignore consequences in situations like murder at the door -Kant’s contradiction in conception test instructs us to think about the consequences of actions.( rebutle: only logical consequences, which have to occur, unlike contingent consequences

Question 36

What challenge does Kant face regarding the identification of the correct maxim of an action?

Answer 36

It is often difficult to determine what the correct maxim is for any given action.

Question 37

What is the potential problem with the maxim 'I will sell others chocolate but not buy it'?

Answer 37

Its universalized form leads to a contradiction.

Question 38

What does Kant believe about moral agents and the moral point of view?

Answer 38

All humans occupy the moral point of view, and to be moral is to be rational.

Question 39

What is the issue with motives in personal relationships according to Kant?

Answer 39

Kant's ethics prioritize duty over motives such as love or care.

Question 40

Fill in the blank: According to Kant, an action motivated by _______ is morally right.

Answer 40

[duty]