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Kantian ethical theory explained
The philosophy of Emmanuel Kant
The philosophy of Emmanuel Kant
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The Volkswagen emissions scandal is a series of choices made by the company and the people employed by Volkswagen to install a "cheat" button to alter the amount of emissions produced only under testing situations. Ordinarily, all vehicles on the road that run off of gasoline have a set about of CO2 and other harmful emissions produced by the burning of gasoline. Violation of these rules can result in fines and recalls. Due to an increased attention on car companies to fight global warming and air pollution a number of emissions have lowered in the over the year for tighter regulation on the amount of CO2 produced. Consequently, this reduction in the amount of CO2 produced is the source of the scandal. This change may come across as minor, …show more content…
The difference between the two comes to Kantian theory doesn 't account for the consequences and rule utilitarianism does. For Kant, it doesn 't matter what happens as a result of your will and duty as the law as it doesn 't compromise the sovereignty of other rational beings. The rule utilitarianism main goal is to maximize collective human happiness and welfare, and unlike Kant, how believes that one should under no circumstance breaks, your own Maxim thus severing the like between Duty and Will. Rule utilitarianism allows more flexibility in people 's actions and behaviors So now that we have an understanding of Kantian ethics, let’s take that lens and look through it at the VW scandal. One of the key arbitrators of the scandal was the engineer that designed the cheat program, James Laing. You may believe that because VW 's will and duty align in creating the emissions test and Kantian theory doesn 't consider the consequences a factor did James and VW act wrongly? Looking through our hypothetical lens with a Kantian perspective the answer is a resounding yes they did act wrongly. Why VW and James acted wrongly comes from the mere means
...l sources of utility or consequences, but about his moral identity and integrity. Jim is presented with a situation that challenges to who he is, and not just simply what he should do. Granted, is tricky to decide on the “right” action in this case because by not partaking in the deal, Jim is staying true to his personal moral beliefs; yet he is still left with the burden of knowing that all twenty of the Indians would be killed without his interference. One could also argue that Jim would only be contributing to the problem if he too committed such acts against these innocent people and it is his duty as a moral being to not partake. It seems that Kant’s theory passes the standard of internal support and explanatory power. This is because his principles are able to fit with considered moral beliefs and are able to help individuals identify a right and wrong action.
When applying utilitarianism, one must choose the action that produces the most amount of good to society, which in this case, Mill would not be in favor of the app Haystack. By discontinuing this app, the urban community as a whole would benefit since there are inequalities among the socioeconomic status’ of the people living in the densely populated cities. While some drivers are willing to pay for a spot each day, such as the upper or upper-middle class, others such as the lower or lower-middle classes might not be able to. Utilitarianism is concerned about the happiness of everyone. In regards to the concept of paying for parking spots, the poor and even the lower-middle will not be happy spending money each day for something that is traditionally
From walking out of your local grocery store back to your car, after buying as much food as your last paycheck can purchase, a beggar stops you. They are wearing the most ragged clothes you have ever seen and you doubt they provide any sort of warmth in the harsh February weather in New England. They ask, “Do you have any spare change?” knowing that you just bought some items and potentially paid with cash and received coins in return or just happen to have literal spare change. You fumble with your words attempting to come up with a reasonable response; how could you even respond to them? On one hand, a Kantian would respond with the truth, “Of course!”, while a Utilitarian would respond with a quick, “Nope, sorry,”.
In chapter 11 The Kantian Perspective: Fairness and Justice Immanuel Kant suggests that the clear cut basic works upon the same technique as the ethical law and it is likewise disregarded by the individuals who accept who apply "double standards ". The downright basic may further be recognized as a prerequisite to not regard other objective creatures as means, for Kant communicates that every single reasonable being contain the capacity of pressing together objectives, yet never see themselves as just an intends to another reason for their moves are eventually made all alone benefit and are finishes in themselves. Immanuel Kant thought along these lines and was prone to the most splendid savant ever to have done as such. He remains maybe the
As a deontological, or duty-based, theory, Kantianism is focus on intent. If the intent behind an action is morally praiseworthy and fits into the categorical imperative, it must be ethical. The categorical imperative is the main element in Kantianism, and it states that you must act as if it was universal law. This is similar to the Golden Rule of “treat others how you wish to be treated” and is a way to determine whether an act is morally praiseworthy. Kantian ethics are different from utilitarianism in that happiness is not a
...nces. Kantianism focuses on the motivation of actions, has clear and distinct set of universal rules, and is morally logical. On the other hand, Utilitarianism relies on the consequences of an action, has no set universal laws as each action is assessed on an individual basis, and morality is based on the results of the assessment. Because of these reasons, I believe that Kantianism is the more ethically plausible theory of the two.
Introduction One of the main reasons why human rights have been put in place is to protect the public life and public space of every individual being. One fundamental characteristic of human rights is that they are equal rights; they are aimed at providing protection to every person in an equal way. These rights have been entrenched through laws that are passed by states and international conventions. Human rights laws have evolved over time, and have been shaped by several factors, including philosophical theories in the past. This paper looks at the theories of two philosophers, Emmanuel Kant and John Stuart Mills, and how their teachings can be used to explain the sources of human rights.
First we will start with the historical example of the execution of Jesus. Pontius Pilate was put into a situation where a large crowd had attempted to persuade him that Jesus should be killed instead of a convicted murderer, even though Jesus had done nothing wrong. The majority won and he was killed. The Utilitarians can justify this action because the majority gained happiness from this. On the other hand, those who support Kant’s theory will argue that Jesus had done nothing wrong and his right were clearly violated making the action
Deontological ethical theory focuses on duty. It is viewed that humans have a duty in doing what is ethically right in any given situation. However, the categorical imperative does not have the same ideas it does not consist of duties to us. As Kant indicates in the idea of the Kingdom of Ends that our duty lies in treating all human beings as ends in and of them instead of as a means to an end it is perceived as being an extension of us. It is based on the desires of a person on how they want to be treated and will succeed as long as the universal good is applied as well. In other words, our actions and behaviors applied in our lives, we can see others imitating. For instance, can we see a world where everyone lied willingly? It does not make sense it would defeat the purpose of being able to identify the truth there would be no meaning. The ethical duty is to be truthful.
In 2014, researchers from West Virginia found out that recent models of Volkswagen vehicles were emitting up to 40 times the allowed levels of nitrogen oxides (2). These vehicles had a special software that would determine when the vehicle was in laboratory testing conditions, and the software would then alter the vehicle 's functionality to emit the legal amount of nitrogen oxides allowed by the EPA. The software was found in around half a million vehicles in the United States. In addition to the bad publicity, the Volkswagen scandal will cost the company at least $15.3 billion dollars in compensation to the owners of the affected vehicles (3). In 2016, Volkswagen engineer James Liang pleaded guilty for being a crucial part in developing the illegal software (3). The software was created because Volkswagen was unable to meet the rigorous EPA emission standards. Therefore, a small team of engineers including James Liang decided to cheat the emission exams to allow Volkswagen vehicles to be sold in the U.S.
However, in my opinion, Kantian ethics is a slightly better ethical theory than consequentialism for several reasons. Primarily, the theory of consequentialism compels us in measuring the benefits and harm that could result from our action while Kantian ethics does not. Just as in the case of the “Footbridge Dilemma”, Kant’s approach to ethics does not require us to give value to the lives of the five workers and the innocent man and choose the act that would result in the greatest net benefit. Second, instead of considering the consequences, Kantian ethics focuses on the intent of our action, which means, “the morality of actions depends entirely on what is within our control” (Landau, 2015, p.164). Finally, Kant’s view deemed actions “that sometimes make … the best consequences [as] wrong” (Hurka, 2014, p. 135). This means that acts of killing and stealing, no matter how much optimific results they bring, are immoral under Kantian ethics. However, despite the strengths of Kant’s view over consequentialism, it is undisputable that “Kantian theory is not without its own problems, and many of those are neatly addressed by consequentialism” (Landau, 2015,
Utilitarianism is defined as a theory asserting that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil. There are two major types of utilitarianism: act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. Act-utilitarianism asserts that the morally right action is the one that directly produces the most favorable balance of good or evil. A rule-utilitarianism asserts that the morally right action is the one covered by a rule that if generally followed would produce the most favorable balance of good over evil. The difference between act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism is that act-utilitarianism is the belief that it is fine to break a rule as long as it brings a greater good, while rule-utilitarianism
Utilitarian’s judge the ethics of the situation based on the outcome. Kant believes that “good will has nothing to do with the outcome” (Garner PowerPoint). In the case of comparing these two views a simple example will be used: a lie to save a life.
Kant makes you evaluate yourself constantly to make sure you are acting out of duty, while Utilitarianism makes you constantly evaluate the outcomes of events before you act on them. This idea of evaluating outcomes to make decisions comes from the principle of utility in Utilitarianism, otherwise known as the Greatest Happiness Principal. A great example of how this principle of utility is used in Utilitarianism is as follows, “When we’re choosing between alternative courses of action or policies, we should choose the one that promotes the most overall happiness and minimizes overall pain.” (Handout 9, The Principal of Utility). The primary objective in Utilitarianism is to act in accordance with the principle of utility always. To follow in accordance with this principal one must be constantly be evaluating his/her environment. Once a split in the environment occurs (when a time for a decision occurs) one must look into the future, reflect on past experiences, and be fully aware of the present to decide which decision will be in accordance with the Greatest Happiness Principal. This process must be completely unbiased to the individuals involved. All sentient beings should be considered in this decision. This idea of
Last Sunday, the company’s then CEO, Martin Winterkorn, issued a brief statement declaring that the Board of Management at Volkswagen AG “takes these findings very seriously.” The findings revealed that the automaker used “defeat devices” to fool emissions testing, effectively concealing the reality that certain cars spew emissions some 10 to 40 times the legal limit.