(M) Part III, L3: Kant and Rights Theory Flashcards
He rejects that ethical judgements are based on feelings
Kant
For him, feelings serve as obstructions to our discernment of right and wrong; he bases moral judgements on reason alone.
Kant
According to Kant, when we consult to _____ when we determine the moral stats of an action
Reason
For Kant, this is the highest good and the condition of all other goods
Good will
What is Kantian Ethics? Deontological or teleological?
Deontological
Feeling that pushes to select a particular option or make a particular decision
Inclination
In Kantian Ethics, it is what we ought to do despite our inclination or taste to do something
Duty or obligation
To perform an act for fear of undesirable consequences of no t doin it
Prudence (To act from a sense of prudence)
General rule or principles which serves as a guide to action
Maxim
T or F; not not all maxims are moral maxims
True
What are the two maxims according to Kant?
Hypothetical imperative and Categorical imperative
Understood as a command of reason
Imperative
Entails being true only under some conditions and therefore not universally true or valid
Hypothetical
Refers to how reason orders one to achieve one’s specific ends
Hypothetical imperative
T or F; an hypothetical imperative is accepted based on its merit
False
T or F; Hypothetical imperative is both the contingent and derivative
True
“No matter what end you desire to attain, act in such-and-such a way”
Categorical imperative
Binding in all agents, in all circumstances, at all times.
Categorical imperative
“Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”
Universalizability
MORALITY is essentially connected with DUTIES
and OBLIGATIONS
Kantian Ethics
it is our liking or tendency to do, favor, or want
something
Incination
Type of imperative; It is one’s duty, as rational being, to act on principle or maxim, as contrasted to simply acting on impulse
Categorical imperative
An example of this is : a man wants to financially help a certain lady who is in need, MERELY, because he likes her personally
Acting on impulse (Categorical imperative)
T or F; Kant is concerned with maxims that are not moral, that is, those dictated by reason and thus have imperative force
False (moral)
It directs one to behave in certain manners on the condition that one seeks specified goals
Hypothetical imperative
Two characteristics of hypothetical imperative
Contingent/conditional and derivative
Characteristics of hypothetical imperative; Because circumstances are imaginable where studying hard would still not result in passing, and in such situations, the maxim may no longer be accepted
Contingent/conditional
Characteristics of hypothetical imperative; Because acceptance of it depends on one’s wish to pass; if one does not want to pass, the principle may be ignored
Derivative
It commands a person to act in particular ways regardless of what goals one looks for or what one’s ends may be
Categorical imperative
It demands action without qualification, without any ifs, and without regard to the consequence such an act may produce
Categorical imperative
T or F; Unlike hypothetical imperative, categorical imperative is not accepted on its own merits
False
It serves as the barometer of reason determining whether or not an action qualifies as ethical
Categorical imperative
Most famous formulation of the categorical
imperative
Universalizability
A person ought always to behave as if his course of conduct were to become a universal code of behavior
Universalizability
“Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”.
Univesalizability
States “So act as to use humanity, both in your own person and in the person of every other, always at the same time as an end, never simply as a means.”
End-in-itself
This rendition teaches, among other things, to respect persons as ends in themselves and not only as means or instruments to further self-interest
End-in-itself
T or F; Another shortcoming of Kant’s ethics is its lack of solution to instances when there is conflict of duties
True
T or F; Kant appears consistent
False (inconsistent)
He saw a distinctive correlation and difference between the intent of the law and the enforcement of law
Immanuel Kant
When applied to war, this states that in order for a war to be deemed morally justifiable, the intention of entering into war ought to be right in relation to human rights
Rights Theory
broad moral theory in which Kant’s principle of rights theory is included
Rights-based Ethics
“There are some rights, both positive and negative, that all humans have based only on the fact that they are human”
Rights-based theory
is one of the main supporters of this system which takes the viewpoint of what the ideal world looks like and generates a rights system based on those ideas
John Locke
“justified claim that individuals and groups can
make upon other individuals or upon society, to
have a right is to be in a position to determine by one’s choices, what other should do or need nor do”
Right
T or F; Rights cannot be legal in nature, or pertain to human rights or moral rights
False
Rights; refer to what ought to be
Moral rights
Rights; refers to rights that are ‘on the books’
Legal rights
Rights; embody the conventional positive law
Legal rights
Rights; represent the natural law
Moral rights
Denote all the rights found within existing legal codes
Legal Rights
Rights; Questions to their existence can be resolved by just locating the pertinent legal instrument or piece of legislation
Legal Rights
Rights; Does not exist prior to its passing into the law and the limits of its validity are set by the jurisdiction of the body which passed its legislation
Legal Rights
Are rights that “exist prior to and independently
from their legal counterparts”
Moral Rights
T or F; It must be clear that human rights can be reduced to, or exclusively identified with legal rights
False (cannot)
T or F; Legal rights are meant to apply to all human beings universally, regardless of whether or not they have attained legal recognition by all countries everywhere
Fasle (Human rights)
T or F; Human rights are best thought of as being BOTH moral and legal rights
True
