Kantian Ethics Flashcards
Who created Kantian ethics?
Emmanuel Kant
What movement was he part of?
The Enlightenment
Is the theory deontological or teleological?
Deontological
Is it absolutist or relativist?
Absolutist
What did Kant think moral decision was known through?
Reason
What did he think it meant to be human?
To be a ‘rational agent’
What was his absolutist ethics influential on?
Human rights
What are moral statements?
A priori synthetic
Evidenced with experience
What are everyday statements?
Known through experience
Evidenced through expirience
What is good will?
The only intrinsically good thing
What is duty?
The action that is morally required
What do you have to combine to get a moral action?
Duty + Goodwill
How many imperatives did Kant produce?
2
What are the imperatives called?
Hypothetical
Categorical
What did Kant believe humans had?
Autonomy
What is a hypothetical imperative?
A command we would follow in order to achieve an end result
Are hypothetical imperatives moral?
No as they are dependant on a goal
What is a categorical imperative?
A moral obligation worked out through reason
What should the categorical imperative be used alongside?
Rules and laws
What are used to help follow moral duties?
The three formulations of the categorical imperative
What are the three formulations called?
Universal law
Persons as an ends
Kingdom of ends
What does the first formulation mean? - Universal law
You must do things that can be made into a universal law that can be applied to everyone
What does the second formulation mean? - Ends in themselves
Don’t treat people as an ends to a means
Treat them as you want to be treated
What does the third formulation mean? - Kingdom of ends
Reject hypothetical imperatives and focus on the idea that all humans have a moral duty
Why did Kant say a categorical imperative should be performed?
Because it’s the right thing to do
What is the end goal of Kant’s categorical imperative?
Summum bonum
What does summum bonum mean?
Highest happiness
When is summum bonum received?
After we die as a reward
What is summum bonum compared to?
Heaven
How many postulates are there?
3
What are the three postulates?
Freedom
Immortality
God
What does freedom mean in the postulates?
You must act autonomously
What does immortality mean in the postulates?
That you have an immortal soul capable of achieving summum bonum to have after you die
What does God mean in the postulates?
God is the only one able to reward you following the CI
