kantian ethics Flashcards
Kant’s life and works?
Kant reacted strongly against the pietism of his youth.
Had a strong emphasis on rationality and autonomy.
Believed that “religion within the boundaries of mere reason”
What is the context of Kant’s Ethics?
Kant wrote toward the end years of the ‘European Enlightenment’ or ‘Age of Reason’.
The Enlightenment led to radical reforms about the rights of the individual and democracy; it is what helped lead to the French and American revolutions.
The main focus of the Enlightenment was on the individual and reason.
what was Newton’s influence?
How reason transformed in physics and astronomy.
Made people see how universal laws are discoverable under the light of reason.
Kant saw moral law as knowable by a priori reasoning about maxims that would be universal in a manner analogous to the laws of nature.
The Influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on Kant’s Ethics
Gives Kant the anti-elitist view.
“Without freedom, we cannot reasonably be held responsible”
^ This idea came from Rousseau’s book, The Social Contract which says, “political freedom is possible only when a people are governed by the collective general, not by external authorities such as the monarchy or church”
what does Kant argue?
Kant argues the existence of a priori knowledge that doesn’t depend on the world’s existence. He links a priori knowledge with our ability to reason and think rationally and logically.
A posterior knowledge is what we learn through experience of the world.
Kant believed the ability to reason is innate in humans.
This ability to reason sets them apart from other creatures, it gives us dignity.
Because we all can reason, we should all come to the same conclusion about any moral problems.
Kant believed that human beings are made up of two things; their desires and urges. Their appetites link them to beasts but their capacity to reason links them to angels and God.
He makes a distinction between the ‘phenomenal’ world and the ‘noumenal’ world. The phenomenal world is that of the physical, instinctive (non-rational self), while the noumenal world is that of the higher rational being.
The noumenal self has freedom and autonomy; acting according to the phenomenal self is to be acting as a slave to basic instincts, therefore against reason.
what is the good will?
Kant says moral law, is to be unconditionally and universally obeyed, to be unconditionally and universally good.
This good must be good in itself and the highest good.; this is called summum bonum.
This does not depend on the consequences it produces.
Good will comes about when a person acts rationally and gets rid of his or her inclinations/ wishes.
Goodwill is intrinsically good and good without qualification.
God, Freedom and the Afterlife: three assumptions of practical reasoning necessary to summum bonum
“…practical reasoning is based on a duty to make summum bonum the object of my will so as to promote it with all my strength. In doing so, I must presuppose its possibility and also its conditions, which are God, freedom and immortality.”
what did Kant learn from his father?
Kant learned from his father the importance of hard work and truth-telling. He believed in bearing, love and honesty even to those who dislike you.
In disputes, he hopes that happiness and virtue ought to respond rather than anger.
what did Kant believe was unachievable?
Kant believed that the perfect alignment between virtue and happiness in this life is unachievable, so to keep faith, he assumed the existence of an afterlife and the existence of God; being the highest good.
what is the end goal of summum bonum?
The end goal of summum bonum is that happiness to be proportionate to perfection, so virtue or duty is its own reward.
why is it better for God’s existence to be unprovable?
God’s existence makes moral law meaningful.
God’s existence should be unprovable as this means that when people do moral actions, it is out of duty rather than fear of God’s judgement.
For our duty to be meaningful, we must be sufficiently free and responsible to obey the commands of the moral law.
We should conform to the moral law as the autonomous rational person can see that failing to do so is contradictory to one’s own reasoning.
what is duty according to Kant?
Acting according to goodwill is the same as acting towards ‘duty’
Acting honestly by inclination is not an action of goodwill as it is something that comes naturally and therefore doesn’t deserve any praise.
To act according to goodwill means to disregard any personal motives meaning that you are also acting according to reason; the only motive should be the awareness of their sense of duty and knowing it is the right thing to do.
Kan’t categorical imperative?
Formula 1: Universalising the maxim
“So act that the maxim of your will could always hold at the same time as a principle establishing a universal law.”
Formula 2: Don’t treat a person as a means to an end.
“Act in such as way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person in the person of any other, never as a means but always at the same time as an end”
Formula 3: kingdom of ends
“Act as if you were, through your maxims, a law-making member of a kingdom of ends.”
what are the strengths of Kant’s theory?
Kant’s system is logical and based on the innate ability of humans to reason
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Every human can make valid moral decisions/judgements.
The categorical imperative creates an unambiguous method for testing the validity of proposed moral actions.
Kant focuses on the motives/ intentions of an action rather than possible consequences to decide whether it is morally right.
Provides moral maxims that are applicable universally at all times.
There is no bias for special relationships as it is not based on emotion but rather reason.
All people should be treated equally a rich and poor people should be treated the same.
Kant’s theory is independent of an external authority such as God. It works on the basis that people have the innate ability to reason.
weaknesses of Kant’s theory
Kant’s theory does not account for the conflict of duties that can occur in certain situations; Kan’t did not give enough thought to this but Mordern Kantians say that an exception the the general rule is admissible.
Universability: certain maxims apply to specifically one person or a small amount, these maxims can be universalised as they do not make illogical sense however this is not what Kant had in mind as this is not true universability.
Abstract nature: kant states his theory in an abstract way but fails to think through how the theory would work in practical situations.
Lack of humanity: in the world of practical morality, people do not act from ‘duty’ but because they want to help someone else or they feel sorry for them. They act morally because of the end not because it is their ‘duty’ to do so. People naturally act out of emotion not out of (abstract) duty.
Consequences: kant’s theory goes against the human being thinks and normally operates; weighing the consequences of an action (pros and cons) before deciding whether or not to do it.
Freedom: many people do not possess the freedom to make valid moral decisions, even if they have the rationality to do so. Thousands of people live under political regimes that take away their ability to make moral decisions.
Limiting human characteristics: Kant argues that reason in the sole characteristic that is important to humans for decision making. However David Hume disagewws and said that reason is less important than emotions, needs and desires of an individual.
