Exploring Personal Ethics: Insights from Immanuel Kant

Every individual has certain rules and guidelines by which they base their decisions off of. There are certain rules that determine people’s actions and these rules may differ from one individual or group to another. These rules are the principles that direct an individual’s actions and are collectively known as ethics. Ethics is important because it helps one differentiate between what is right and wrong when making decisions. Ethics also includes the moral codes or values that a person holds, which are more personal than the codes of ethics. In the role of morality I identify myself most with the philosopher Immanuel Kant because of the similarities shared between our philosophies.

Some of the moral codes and values that I hold include;

For Kant as mentioned before a good will is when someone does something because they ought to do it and not because of some other external motive (Kant, 7), however I believe that external motives can also cause an action of moral worth. Morality, for me, means doing what is good and shunning what is bad, and although sometimes a person might act due to selfish motives I believe that if someone does good for another and it isn’t hurting them then it has moral worth. It is adequate to feel good about yourself while doing a good deed. Moral and ethical issues are often referred to as the same. However, moral issues are more personal while some laws that apply to a community govern ethical issues. Any action that goes against the principles of that community is unethical. This of course varies from generation to generation and from community to community. Therefore, by operating under the foundation of the good will and doing good deeds for others, I believe the code is moral because it considers the welfare of everyone, not just one individual. As time goes by, it is important to review the values one has in order to ensure that necessary changes are made when the needs of the community