Kantianism

Question 1

Who is Kant

Answer 1

Kant is an enlightenment thinker who is influenced by Hume’s scepticism. He was influenced by Christianity and is a deontological thinker

Question 2

What are hypothetical and categorical imperatives

Answer 2

Hypothetical- something you should do for a desired outcome. non-moral

Categorical- something you should do regardless of what you want. moral and are your duty

Question 3

What is the good will

Answer 3

Someone who follows their duty for the sake of it and without mal intent has a good will

e.g. shopkeeper who charges everyone the same price because it gives him a good reputation does not have a good will

Question 4

How does Kant believe we should act

Answer 4

He believes we should solely act out of reason and follow categorical imperatives to fulfill our duties

Question 5

What is Kant’s argument for the shopkeeper

Answer 5

The argument goes as follows

(1) Kantian ethics says that the shopkeeper who charges the same price in order to keep a good reputation is doing the wrong thing
(2) If so, Kantian ethics is a good ethical theory
(3) So Kantian ethics is a good ethical theory

Question 6

Prove the premisses of Kant’s argument for the shopkeeper

Answer 6

(1) Kantian ethics says that the shopkeeper who charges the same price in order to keep a good reputation is doing the wrong thing
The shopkeeper is acting on a hypothetical imperative and their emotions rather than reason and duty as KE demands

(2) If so, Kantian ethics is a good ethical theory
KE gets the right answer and ethical theories are good when they explain what is right

(3) So Kantian ethics is a good ethical theory

Question 7

Name and explain the three formulations of categorical imperatives

Answer 7

1. The formula of the Universal Law of Nature
   an action is right if you would want it to become a universal law of nature
2. The formula of Ends in Itself
   an action is right if it does not use a person as merely a means to an end
3. The formula of the Kingdom of Ends
   an action is right if it meets BOTH the criteria of formulation 1 and 2

Question 8

What link does Kant make between the formulations of categorical imperatives and one’s duty (what section in his 2nd argument)

Answer 8

The duty would be fulfilled if all three categorical imperatives were followed as they determine the duty

Question 9

How does Kant’s second argument go (4)

Answer 9

An argument for his view is as follows

(1) Taking someone’s organs to save 5 lives is wrong
(2) If so then KE gets the right idea about the organ harvesting case
(3) If so then KE is a good ethical theory
(4) So KE is a good ethical theory

Question 10

Prove the premisses of Kant’s second argument

Answer 10

(1) Taking someone’s organs to save 5 lives is wrong
Basic moral intuition that everyone would agree upon

(2) If so then KE gets the right idea about the organ harvesting case
Goes against the first and second FOCG

(3) If so then KE is a good ethical theory
Ethical theories are good if they can explain why something is right or wrong

(4) So KE is a good ethical theory

Question 11

Which previously learned deontological analogy could be used to strengthen this argument

Answer 11

The Riot Case

Question 12

What is a postulate

Answer 12

An assumption that you cannot prove

Question 13

What are the three postulates (definition and list)

Answer 13

Assumptions Kant cannot prove but believes they must exist for morality to make sense

(1) God
(2) Freedom to act
(3) Immortality

Question 14

Who is Hume

Answer 14

An enlightenment thinker who was an empiricist and sceptic

Question 15

What did Hume believe in that opposed KE

Answer 15

Hume would say KE is impractical as human action is only possible through emotion

Question 16

What is Hume’s objection to KE

Answer 16

His argument goes as follows

(1) All human action is motivated by emotions
(2) If so then it is impossible to act without emotions
(3) So it is impossible to act without emotions

Question 17

Prove the premisses of Hume’s objection to KE

Answer 17

(1) All human action is motivated by emotions
Humans have urges that may dictate their actions. For example, people eat because of their emotional urge of hunger and sleep because of tiredness

(2) If so then it is impossible to act without emotions
Without emotions people would have no motivation to act and actions would become impossible

(3) So it is impossible to act without emotions

Question 18

Why is this a strong objection

Answer 18

RAD- as Kant believes we should act without emotions and Hume believes if we do so then we would not have motivation to do anything

Question 19

What is Kant’s reply to Hume

Answer 19

Postulate of freedom and ought implies can

Kant argues that we ought to act without our emotions because of the postulate of freedom- the idea that we can act freely and regardless of our emotions. Because he believes we ought to, he believes we can act without emotions. This is plausible because of the ‘ought implies can’ principle in which an action must be possible if you ought to do it

Question 20

Who is Bernard Williams

Answer 20

A virtue ethicist
Virtue ethics- focus on the the person and the intention behind their actions rather than the action itself or the outcome

Question 21

What did Bernard Williams believe that opposed KE

Answer 21

He believed it was better to prefer your spouse out of love in the analogy of the drowning spouse, although love was an emotion

Question 22

What was Bernard Williams’ objection (4)

Answer 22

His argument goes as follows

(1) It is better to prefer your spouse out of love
(2) If so, KE gets the wrong answer
(3) If so, KE is a bad ethical theory
(4) So KE is a bad ethical theory

Question 23

Prove the premisses of Bernard Williams’ objection

Answer 23

(1) It is better to prefer your spouse out of love
Drowning spouse analogy and basic moral intuition

(2) If so, KE gets the wrong answer
KE would say not to use your emotion of love and have a preference for your spouse over a stranger

(3) If so, KE is a bad ethical theory
Ethical theories are bad if they cannot explain what is right or wrong

(4) So KE is a bad ethical theory

Question 24

What is an analogy to support Williams’ objection

Answer 24

Helping your sibling study because you love them rather than because its the right thing to do. Likewise…

Question 25

What would Kant reply to Williams

Answer 25

He still believes we should not save our spouse out of love but because of our devout commitment to them- a promise that should be kept

Considering the FOULON, we would not want breaking promises to be a universal law as that would be self-contradictory and promises would become meaningless, therefore, a promise made in marriage should also be kept and the spouse should be saved only on the basis of that promise

Question 26

Why is this a strong response to Williams

Answer 26

It raises a new consideration that we should prefer our spouse due to our commitment to them rather than love

Question 27

Who is Sartre

Answer 27

Sartre focused on existentialism: the idea that there are no rules prescribed for us and we can choose our own meaning in life

Question 28

How did Sartre object KE

Answer 28

Sartre believes KE is impractical as it does not explain what to do in the case of conflicting duties

Question 29

What is Sartre’s objection to KE

Answer 29

His argument goes as follows

(1) KE is impractical in cases where duties conflict
(2) If so, KE is an impractical ethical theory
(3) So it is an impractical ethical theory

Question 30

Prove the premisses of Sartre’s objection to KE

Answer 30

(1) KE is impractical in cases where duties conflict
It does not tell us how to act when duties conflict. Example of the soldier who could fight against the Nazis or stay home to take care of his sick grandma

(2) If so, KE is an impractical ethical theory
It does not give guidance in making the right decision when duties conflict

(3) So it is an impractical ethical theory

Question 31

Who is W.D Ross

Answer 31

A 20th century intuitionist

Question 32

What does prima facie mean

Answer 32

An idea that can be believed at first sight but may later be disproven with evidence

Question 33

What does W.D Ross believ a prima facie duty is

Answer 33

Considered duties at first glance but can be overridden by a more important duty as different duties have a different level of importance

Question 34

What is Ross’ reply

Answer 34

In the soldier example, taking care of the grandma is the prima facie duty, however, the more important duty is to fight the Nazis. The prima facie duty can be decided in the moment by using common sense and intuition

Question 35

Why is this a strong reply to Sartre

Answer 35

It raises a new consideration that we do not need guidance from KE to decide between categorical imperatives as intuition and common sense can be used to make decisions

Question 36

Plan an argument for KANT

Answer 36

Main-
Hypothetical Imperatives vs Categorical
Emotions vs Reason
Duty
Good will
Shopkeeper
Three formulations
Organ case

Objection- Hume: Kantian ethics is not helpful because it demands we use no emotion which is impractical.

Reply- Kant: Kantian ethics is in fact helpful because we in fact can act without emotion, according to the ‘postulate of freedom’

Objection- Sartre: Kantian ethics is not helpful because the categorical imperative gives us no guidance in the case of conflict of duties, thus rendering it impractical.
OR:
Williams: Better to prefer a spouse out of love, an emotion which KE tells us not to use

Reply- Ross: Conflicts of prima facie duty can be solved by intuiting the answer via common-sense.
OR:
Kant: postulate of freedom (only against Williams)

Question 37

‘Kantian Ethics is a Helpful Method of Moral Decision-making’ essay plan

Answer 37

Main- Kant: Kantian ethics is a helpful method of moral-decision-making because it gives us the right decisions in everyday situations like the shopkeeper case

Objection- Hume: Kantian ethics is not helpful because it demands we use no emotion which is impractical.

Reply- Kant: Kantian ethics is in fact helpful because we in fact can act without emotion, according to the ‘postulate of freedom’

Main- Kant: Kantian ethics is a helpful method of moral decision-making because the three formulations of the categorical imperative get the right answer in difficult situations, e.g. the organ harvesting case.

Objection- Sartre: Kantian ethics is not helpful because the categorical imperative gives us no guidance in the case of conflict of duties, thus rendering it impractical.

Reply- Ross: Conflicts of prima facie duty can be solved by intuiting the answer via common-sense.