Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Kant theory essay
Kant's Maxim
"Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never as a means only."
There are two opposing maxims that relate directly to Kant's point, and they both come to mind simultaneously. The first is that "the end justifies the means," and "the end never justifies the means that made it possible." We will examine both of these viewpoints in relation to Kant's maxim, and discuss them in terms of the issues of assisted suicide, euthanasia, capital punishment, and using people for our own purposes.
Kant is most famous for advocating a philosophy that contains what Kant referred to as the "categorical imperative." The categorical imperative is something that, in a situation with moral choices, must be followed regardless of the consequences or any other competing points of view, and is something, that if true, we would will that it be made into a universal law. In other words, a categorical imperative is a moral rule that applies to everyone regardless of any other situation that might call for a different application. Among the many associations with the categorical imperative is one that states that an action, if it is to be absolutely moral, must not depend on the consequences of the action, because consequences always involve some emotional context, and emotions cannot play a part in an absolutely moral choice. The categorical imperative is one that is universal. Morality, then, is a condition in which actions always-- as opposed to situational ethics, in which the moral choice depends upon the situation-- conform to the universal imperative.
The quote above could be considered an example of the categorical imperative. That is to say, that actions shou...
... middle of paper ...
... inmate's living expenses for life, freeing up taxpayer money for other noble and humanitarian purposes. But that argument is not often made, and the money saved is not often used for -- the argument for capital punishment is almost always a conservative viewpoint of being tough on crime, tough in the extreme. Unfortunately for this one, however, investing in the maximum toughness allowed by law, capital punishment, does not pay off in any way either in the short term or the long-term.
So the only thing we can do with any kind of moral certainty is to agree with Kant's maxim that humanity should always be treated as an end rather than as a means to an end. Anything short of that leaves morality as a decision to be made in any situation that calls for moral approach, rather as a constant guiding principle that reflects the views of an enlightened moral humanity.
In the essay titled “Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals” published in the Morality and Moral Controversies course textbook, Immanuel Kant argues that the view of the world and its laws is structured by human concepts and categories, and the rationale of it is the source of morality which depends upon belief in the existence of God. In Kant’s work, categorical imperative was established in order to have a standard rationale from where all moral requirements derive. Therefore, categorical imperative is an obligation to act morally, out of duty and good will alone. In Immanuel Kant’s writing human reason and or rational are innate morals which are responsible for helping human. Needless to say, this also allows people to be able to distinct right from wrong. For the aforementioned reasons, there is no doubt that any action has to be executed solely out of a duty alone and it should not focus on the consequence but on the motive and intent of the action. Kant supports his argument by dividing the essay into three sections. In the first section he calls attention to common sense mor...
“There is only one way in which one can endure man’s inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one’s own life, to exemplify man’s humanity to man.” by Alan Paton
According to Kant, there are two types on imperatives, categorical imperatives and hypothetical imperatives. The Categorical Imperative is based on relation and not by means, which hypothetical imperatives are based on. Kant describes them by stating, “When I conceive a hypothetical imperative in general, I do not know beforehand what it will contain- until its condition is give. But if I conceive a categorical imperative, I know at once what it contains,” (88). Like before, categorical imperatives are absolutely moral in themselves, meaning they do not rely on a person’s desires or feelings. This is compared with hypothetical imperatives, which are obligations that have an end result of your action, which in turn results in your personal desires or thoughts. An example of a hypothetical imperative is, “I need to ea...
Kant argued that the Categorical Imperative (CI) was the test for morally permissible actions. The CI states: I must act in such a way that I can will that my maxim should become a universal law. Maxims which fail to pass the CI do so because they lead to a contradiction or impossibility. Kant believes this imperative stems from the rationality of the will itself, and thus it is necessary regardless of the particular ends of an individual; the CI is an innate constituent of being a rational individual. As a result, failure ...
The first distinct articulation of the categorical imperative is the philosophy of morality.as Kant mentioned “Metaphysics of morals has to
Morality is based on the categorical imperative, or the act of carrying out principles that can be universally rightly applied. Moral philosophy, according to Kant, is finding the base principle of a moral metaphysics. Ultimately, Kant’s foundational moral rests on moral agreement or
Overall Kant’s concepts of ‘The Good Will’ and ‘The Categorical Imperative’ can be applied to any situation. His ideas of moral law, good will, duty, maxims, and universal law all intertwine to support his belief. As a whole his concept enables the Kingdom of Ends, which is the desired result of the morality of humanity. Everyone is to treat everyone based upon true good will actions instead of personal gains, this way no one gets used. In all Kant trusts if this is achieved there will be universal peace across humanity.
Kant’s categorical imperative can provide a set of rules to formulate what a good person is and should do. Kantian philosophy is deontological and it requires people to always do their duty. Kant does not forbid feeling good or happiness, but it must be the case that each person can fulfill their duty even if they did not enjoy doing it. In summary, in order to determine whether or not a particular act is good or bad, morally speaking, we must apply the categorical imperative and I have provide justifications to use it in our daily day lives.
In Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant argues that human beings inherently have capability to make purely rational decisions that are not based on inclinations and such rational decisions prevent people from interfering with freedom of another. Kant’s view of inherent ability to reason brings different perspective to ways which human beings can pursue morality thus it requires a close analytical examination.
Kant believed that morality has to be something free and freely controlled by the person taking the moral action excluding consequences because consequences are not controllable. Morality is freely chosen and legislated universal law that any rational being could construct and all rational beings who want to be moral do
Kant is a deontological philosopher; that is, in examining morality he says that the ends must not be looked at, only the means. Kant began by carefully drawing a pair of crucial distinctions among the judgments we do actually make. The first distinction separates a priori from a posteriori judgments by reference to the origin of our knowledge of them. A priori judgments are statements for which there is no appeal to experience in order to dertermine what is true and false. A posteriori judgments, on the other hand, are statements in which experience determines how we discover the truth or falsity of the statement. Thus, this distinction also marks the difference traditionally noted in logic between necessary and contingent truths.
In Section One and Section Two of his work. Kant explores his position on his fundamental principle of morality, or his “categorical imperative”, or his idea that all actions are moral and “good” if they are performed as a duty. Such an idea is exemplified when he says, “I should never act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal law” (Kant 14). The philosopher uses examples such as suicide and helping others in distress to apply his principal to possible real life situation. Kant is successful in regards to both issues. As a result, it means that categorical imperative can plausibly be understood as the fundamental principle of all morality. Kant’s reasoning for his categorical imperative is written in a way that makes the theory out to be very plausible.
The first formulation of the Categorical Imperative “act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” seems at face value viable. Nevertheless the lack of guidelines to determine which maxim should be used to describe an action causes problems with the consistency of the Universal Law formulation. Moreover, the abundance of false positives and false negatives suggests a deep problem with the first formulation of the Categorical Imperative that may not be fixable.
The first reason why the death penalty will save us and the government money is the government will not have to buy the prisoners food, health care, and housing. If all the criminals that deserve the death penalty gets the death penalty, then we will not have to pay as much for them and our taxes will go to something more important. Another reason why the death penalty will save us and the government money is because they will not have to house the criminals. The government pays for the prison they live in. Criminals should not get good housing for committing a crime, and other than the fact that criminal are not free they live better than most citizens. They get three meals a day, they get to take showers every day, and they are living in a safe place. The last reason why it will save us and the government money is because we will not have to pay for their education. Less criminals, less money to spend. If the prisoners that the deserve the death penalty actually get the death penalty, then that would be less money going to educate criminals that already have been educated in the
Immanuel Kant was a philosopher who made great contributions with his work on the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Kant’s interest with metaphysics left him in the company of Aristotle, who had the original work on metaphysics. Kant’s goal in the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals was to find and make the supreme principal of morality. Kant covers several concepts in his work on metaphysics, some of the key concepts in his work are good will, moral worth, and imperatives. When it comes to good will Kant believes that “Nothing in the world—indeed nothing even beyond the world—can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except a good will” 1. In the next key concept, moral worth, Kant believes that actions are only morally right depending on their motives, “an action done not from inclination but from duty” 2 is morally right according to Kant. Kant’s imperatives are broken down into two types, those being hypothetical and categorical. A hypothetical imperative is an “action that is good to some purpose, possible or actual” 3. A categorical imperative “directly commands a certain conduct without making its condition some purpose to be reached by it” 4. From these concepts you can tell that Kant is a perfect world philosopher who thinks that all humans are rational beings, who have preeminent good in them, and should always strive to be their best selves.