kantian ethics

Question 1

moral law

Answer 1

binding moral obligations

Question 2

maxims

Answer 2

another word for moral rules determined by reason

Question 3

duty

Answer 3

duties are created by moral law, to follow it is out duty. the word deontological means duty based

Question 4

summum bonum

Answer 4

highest most supreme good

Question 5

good will

Answer 5

a person of good will is a person who makes decisions according to moral law

Question 6

categorical imperative

Answer 6

unconditional moral obligation that is always binding irrespective of a persons inclinations or purpose

Question 7

hypothetical imperative

Answer 7

-moral obligation that applies only if one desires implied goal

Question 8

kingdom of ends

Answer 8

an imagined future in which all people act in accordance to the moral law, the categorical imperative

Question 9

whats kants epistomology

Answer 9

he argued the mind organises out experience so there is phenomena ( how the world appears) and noumena (how the world actually is)
-he uses this to argue its impossible for god to exist but moral truths are somehow built into this world

Question 10

what is good at all times for kant

Answer 10

good will
-having good intention
-doing our duty intrinsically and not because of reward

Question 11

what should deciding whats right and wrong not be based on

Answer 11

-right and wrong shouldnt be based on consequences because we cannot know them for sure
-shouldnt be based on emotions because they change everyday
-when we carry out action we have maxim in mind

Question 12

3 tests for categorical imperatives

Answer 12

-can law be universalized
-does it treat person as end- reason being with dignity and respect
-does it work in perfect kingdom of ends

Question 13

objection to kants treating people as end

Answer 13

-we cant always treat people as end
-when we buy things are we not using the shopkeeper

Question 14

kants response to objection of second formulation

Answer 14

the word solely often gets missed
-we are not to treat others solely as a means to an end
-in interactions you treat people as humans with respect

Question 15

philipa foots criticism to kant

Answer 15

-morality is a system of hypothetical imperatives
-foot argues kant lacks proper explanation for desires and motives behind action
-only hypothetical imperatives give reason to act
-in kants categorical imperatives we are told to act but doesnt account for motives
-foot influenced by aristotle virtue ethics
-virtues and good character must be freely chosen
-we must choose to be virtuous not conscripts

Question 16

whats the only thing intrinsically good and perfect

Answer 16

good will
-no qualification for good will
-its always good
-

Question 17

why is good will always perfect thing

Answer 17

-because of the intention and desire to do the right thing
-intentions and actions matter more than consequences

Question 18

kant quote for good will

Answer 18

-nothing can possibly be conceived in the world, or even out of which can be called good without qualification except good will
-groundwork of metaphysics of morals

Question 19

arguments arguing kantian ethics is helpfull regarding our duty to ourselves as well as to others

Answer 19

-duty better than depending on our inclinations, they change but less bias prone to follow duty
-kant ethics rational, gives humans responsibility, each humans ability to reason will lead to good decisions
-kant right that consequences cant be predicted,we cant be held responsible for things out of our control

Question 20

arguments arguing kantian ethics is helpfull regarding our duty to ourselves as well as to others part 2

Answer 20

-principal of universalism good, found in religions doing to others what you wish upon yourself
-kant ethics values person ,respects rationality and values as end, every human significant
-secular so applied to all and modern justice relies a lot on kants ethics

Question 21

arguments arguing kantian ethics is not helpfull in regarding out duty to ourselves as well as others

Answer 21

-inflexibility, some things not always wrong even if categorical
-outcome ignored, sometime consqeuence forseeable if not certain, doing something thats gnna lead to bad morally wrong
-no clear guidance on clashing duties
-kingdom of ends, ethics real life and his theory to unrealistic
-principal of universal law doesnt show us our moral duties, non moral maxims can be universalized

Question 22

perfect duties

Answer 22

-one where our maxim cannot be universalized because there would be logical contradiction would occur if we were to do so
-false promise- rely on telling truths so lieing would abolish promises

Question 23

imperfect duties

Answer 23

-dont create logical contradiction but they do present us with situation that no rational person would desire at all
-world were people didnt help each other in need

Question 24

arguments arguing right and wrong does depend on duty

Answer 24

-duty rational and not changing because of out emotions or consequences
-concept of duty rightly involves giving to each person things that we owe them to treat them correctly

Question 25

arguments arguing right and wrong does not depend on duty

Answer 25

-concept of duty usefull in public sector of employment but doesnt apply to everywhere in life
-danger of conflating duty with disobidience and authority
-issue of conflicting duties - cannot fulfill both of good action that seem to be required

Question 26

kant and enlightment

Answer 26

-intelectual and philospphical movement that valued reason as source of human knowledge
-emphasis on scientific and reason as source of knowledge
-led to rejection of church and monarch authority
-sapere aude - dare to know

Question 27

daniel golemans work on the human brain and aristotle

Answer 27

-asistotle said rational and irrational part of soul
-golemans work on human emotional intelligence, suggests that emotional aspects of human nature need to be equally embraced not repressed

Question 28

arguments arguing kant is wrong to rely on human reason

Answer 28

-limits to human reason, minds experiences the world through categories we impose, unable to experience neuoaena
-Barth, need gods revelation, human reason limited, Augustine
-Freud argues moral thinking product of subconcious drives produced by upbringing making morality more instinctive that reasoned
-reason might not give right answers so agape love better

Question 29

arguments arguing kant is right to rely on human reason

Answer 29

-morality does come in sphere of reason, priori synthetic
-autonomy- each of us has power of reason in us, treating people as ends, allowing people to reason for themselves rather than imposing ethical ideas
-kant assumes one fixed human nature and one way of reasoning, each come to same conclusions through reason like when we solve maths problem

Question 30

why does kant believe god is not required

Answer 30

because like Rosseous he believes in the power of human nature to do good and that humans are not damaged by original sin

Question 31

kants 3 postulates

Answer 31

things that must be assumed for morality to work at all

Question 32

first postulate kant

Answer 32

-essential for human beings to have free will
-ought implies can]-when we talk about moral duties we have to assume person able to carry out duty in question
-if we have no control over out actions we cant be held responsible for carrying out out duty

Question 33

second postulate kant

Answer 33

-assume the existence of afterlife
-required to seek the highest good- summum bonum
-highest good occurs when perfect virtue rewarded with happiness
-in this world good things can worsen a situation so logically well to believe achieving highest good in afterlife

Question 34

third postulate kant

Answer 34

-to assume god exists
-in order for summum bonim to occur there must be highest being god who ensures justice is prevailed
-

Question 35

does summum bonum show that kant is guilty for relying on god argument against

Answer 35

-for kant doing out duty because we have to
-reward must not come into out motivation
-separates kantian ethics from others as doesnt rely on reward from god but doing duty
-kantt found optimism in human nature- doesnt believe in original sin- human have reason and freely act and make decisions
-religious element doesnt effect motive or action at all

Question 36

what was kants theory a reaction to

Answer 36

humes empricist ethical anti realism
-hume denied that right and wrong existed concluding that morality reduced to personal feelings

Question 37

ethical clarity being a strength for kantian ethics

Answer 37

-kants precise rules and methods for figuring out maxims available to all rational beings
-doesnt assert rules onto people from external authority which is primitive and childlike
-people recognising rationality of moral rules through their own reason engages autonomy of individual in way required for civillised democratic society

Question 38

issue of clashing duties against ethical clarity for kantian ethics

Answer 38

-kant says ought implies can
-if duties clash and one cannot be done then its not out duty
-if those duties obtained through kants formula of categorical imperative then problem
-Satre- soldier trying to go home and take care of sick mom or go to war and defend country
sarte doesnt think there can be objective guidance for out ethical views

Question 39

kants defense to clashing duties weakness to ethical clarity

Answer 39

-kants reponse is if we think there are clashing duties we havent used out reason properly
-imperfect duties- more than one way of fulfilling it -pay someone to look after sick mom and go to war
-perfect duties never clash because they are negative- cannot clash

Question 40

further criticism of kants clashing duties against its ethical clarity

Answer 40

-we can press objection by saying there must be situations where one duty cannot be fulfilled
-soldiers life circumstances might be that they only have the means of fulfilling one imperfect duty

Question 41

kants cirtique of consequentalism as strength for theory

Answer 41

-B constant- murder knocked on door and asked where victim was
-kant responds with saying we cannot control consequences so we cannot be responsible for them so not relevant to our moral decision making
-if we lied victim was there but we didnt know victim has moved then we would be responsible for their death

Question 42

consequences do have moral value argument against kant

Answer 42

-we can predict and control consequences to some extent
-so we are responsible for them to that degree
-Bentham- moral obligation simply we do out best to maximise utliity
-he fails to explain why out intuitions about the ethical relevance of consequences are wrong
-deploying billions of nukes of we lie- limit to where most convinced deontologist would accept consequences matter

Question 43

evaluation defending kant arguing against consequences being morally valued

Answer 43

-each person responsible for what they do
-as a rational agent you are responsible for what you do and nazi responsible for what they do
-allowing bac actions for supposed greater good corrupts people
-abandoning duty becomes bad
-might be better to die than become immoral

Question 44

evaluation further criticising kant arguing for consequences having moral value

Answer 44

-fails because we are responsible for what others do
-kant paints picture of humans individuals only responsible for what they do
-Hegel- part of who we are depends on interactions with other people
-we exist in deep connection to other people and to that extent are responsible for each other
-we are not atomised radically individual people how kant imagined us to be

Question 45

emotions are unreliable and cannot constitute moral motivation as strength of kantian ethics

Answer 45

-important pillar of theory
-emotions unreliable because they are transient and fickle
-reasons ability to produce respect for moral law more stable
-using emotion for actions is not acting out of duty and only acting out of duty can be morally right

Question 46

weakness emotions can have value as motivation for moral action

Answer 46

Bernard williams- to narrow-considers broader account of how person comes to be virtuous due to emotional habits and personal relationships
-Micheal Stocker- visiting ill friend because it was your duty- solely acting on duty baffling and implausible
-Williams- virtuous person can cultivate their emotional reactions so their feelings reliably motivate them to do whats right- do good out of habit
Stocker- acting out of duty incompatible with acting out of cultivated virtuous habits like love and friendship
-Virtue ethics- more naturally alugned with practical reality of human psychology and relationships

Question 47

evaluation defending kant emotions are not good in decisions

Answer 47

-virtue ethicists miss point of kants argument
-he is concerned with explicity moral action
-so long as we treat others as end we can be motivated by howere much emotion we like
-virtue ethics lacks clear guidance and difficult working format
-need kantian ethics which can take form of clear laws to govern society

Question 48

evaluation critiquing kant emotions can be moral motivators

Answer 48

-stockers critique success becayse shows how emotions leading to right action can be more than just luck
-we can act out of intentionally cultivated feelings of love when visiting sick friend
-emotions do have moral value in objective ethics

Question 49

kantian ethics provides an objective basis for universal ethics based on reasons recognition of morally equality

Answer 49

–universal decelaration of human rights uses kants terminology of dignity
-without categorical everyone would do hypothetical actions suited on their end of the side
-kant thinks humans are fundementally motivated by self interest
-only choose to be moral when suites us expect in moral law

Question 50

philipa foot morality hypothetical rather than categorical weakness

Answer 50

-denies kants premise its irrational to disobey categorical imperatives - would mean reason cannot discover a universal moral law
-points to non moral language that appear to involve categorical imperatives but no one thinks its irrational to disobey
-moral judgments only rationally binding if we accept them as out end- making then invariably hypothetical

Question 51

evaluation defending kant categorical imperatives necessary

Answer 51

-foot not success she fails to undermine kants reasoning
-if i treated others as end i would have to think my ends are more important then others
-reason tells us other people are rational beings like is who seek their own end , reason tells us we are all equal
-no rational way to privelege ends above others- to be rational requires treating all ends as equal

Question 52

evaluation criticising kant further philipa foot

Answer 52

-foot develops argument with aristotlian virtue ethics
-kants mistake accepting false dichotomy
-humans can cultivate being motivated by love and classical virtues
-he thought we could only be motivated by duty or emotional self interest
-provides place for morality in place of kants failed attempt