Philosophy: Kant´s Maxim

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...

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... 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.