Kantian Deontology

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Kantian deontology is an ethical theory that was developed by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. The founding principle of this theory is known as the categorical imperative. Within the Kantian categorical imperative, there are two fundamental formulations to be observed. The first formulation is specified as, “Act only on that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become universal law.” In other words, one should consider if an action is right or wrong by asking themselves if they would endorse that action. The second formulation is stated as, “Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.” In …show more content…

In this case, Fred, a former spy agent, has an extremely ill wife that needs a specific drug to survive. However, the drug is beyond the financial limits of Fred and his wife, so they cannot afford to buy it. There is, coincidently, a wealthy man that owns a local pharmacy that happens to have an excess amount of the drug Fred needs for his wife. Unfortunately, Fred cannot get the owner to decrease the price of the drug. The dilemma found in Case 3 pertains to whether or not Fred should steal an expensive drug for his extremely ill wife. Analyzing this dilemma from a Kantian perspective, one would reach the verdict that Fred cannot be morally just if he steals the drug. To determine this verdict, one must take into account the perfect duties Fred has a person, as well as Kant’s categorical imperative. Fred would infringe upon his perfect duty to not steal by taking the drug and perfect duties are not to be violated under any circumstances. In addition, if he were to steal the drug from the owner, he would be using the owner as a mere means, rather than an end. For these reasons, according to this theory, stealing from the wealthy pharmacy owner is strictly impermissible because it not only transgresses against a perfect duty, but also fails to respect the owner as a person. Kantian deontology would likely recommend that Fred seek alternative options. For instance, he could …show more content…

Personally, I find the recommendations for to be sufficiently reasonable. While Fred appears to have already tried a number of legal methods to obtain his wife’s medication, he has not fully exhausted every alternative. For instance, the GoFundMe option: social media is extremely effective and convenient for raising money, especially in somber situations like that found in Case 3. Due to this, I am almost certain he would succeed in raising enough money for the drug. One might argue that this method contradicts the Kantian notion that one shall not treat others as a mere means. While it is true that Fred would be using people as a means by asking them for money, he would not be forcing anyone to contribute to his cause. Therefore, he would not be treating them as mere means because they would voluntarily give to his cause. On the chance that this method fails, he could sell his vehicle or other valuables. Still, even after exploring all of the recommendations, there is a possibility that Fred could fail to get the drug for his wife, whether that be due to a lack of funds or insufficient time. In that instance, Kantian deontology states Fred must accept his situation and not steal the drug because doing so would transgress against a perfect duty and contradict the categorical imperative by not

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