Kantian Ethics - Arguments Flashcards
Give the argument that Kantian ethics agrees with our moral intuitions in everyday situations.
Who:
Kant
What:
Kantian ethics is good because it gets the inuitively right answer. More specifically, the application of Kantian ethics to moral dilemmas, such as the two shopkeepers, leads to a judgement which agrees with our intuitive answer for what is morally good - therefore Kantian ethics is practical.
Why:
1) In the scenario of the two shopkeepers, the selfless shopkeeper is intuitively morally good.
This is plausible from understanding the scenario. In the dilemma there are two shopkeepers who want to sell products at the same price, the difference is that one does it out of his duty to his customers to offer a fair price and the other does it so he can be more profitable. It is intuitive to us that being fair to others is morally good and as such the selfless shopkeeper is intuitively morally good.
2) if 1) then Kantian ethics is a good ethical theory.
This is plausible since the judgement of kantian ethics on the dilemma of the shopkeepers is that the selfless one is morally good - to be more precise he is morally good because his is acting from duty for duty’s sake, whereas the other shopkeeper is following a hypothetical imperative which cannot be universalised because it uses people as a means to an end. Therefore, kantian ethics is good ethical theory because it can explain our moral intuitions.
3) Thus, kantian ethics is good ethical theory.
Give the argument that Kantian ethics is impractical because it asks us to not use our emotions.
Who:
Hume
What:
Kantian ethics is impractical because it is ignorant of emotions. More specifically, Kant demands that people rule out their emotion from ethical decision making, but this is impractical since motivation to do morally good acts comes from emotion.
Why:
1) All motivation comes from emotion.
This is plausible since by example we see that we are motivated by emotional urges to act. For example, we experience the urge to eat because of the discomfort caused by hunger. This demonstrates that we are motivated to eat because of the emotion caused by discomfort from hunger.
2) If 1) then Kantian ethics is impractical.
This is plausible since despite the fact that motivation to do moral good comes directly from emotion, Kant commands us to forsake this emotion and only work from reason - which is an unrealistic demand since motivation comes from emotion. Therefore, kantian ethics is impractical.
3) Thus, kantian ethics is impractical.
Give the argument that the postulate of freedom neccessitates that ethics be possible without emotion. [INCOMPLETE]
Give the argument that the three formulations of the categorical imperative agree with our intuitions in difficult situations. [INCOMPLETE]
Give the argument that categorical imperative is impractical since there is no guideline for conflicting duties. [INCOMPLETE]
Give the argument that prima facie conflicts between duties can be resolved. [INCOMPLETE]
