Kant Flashcards

Question	Answer
Kant	Theory of Ethics
What did he believe in?	Kant believed in an objective right and wrong based on reason
why should we do the right thing according to Kant?	we should do the right thing just because it is right and not because it fulfils our desires or is based on our feelings.
what did he say about how we know what is right?	we know what is right not by relying on our intuitions or facts about the world, but by using our reason
How do we test a moral maxim?	to test a moral maxim, we need to ask whether we can always say that everyone should follow it and we must reject it if we cannot
What view does Kant oppose?	He opposed the view that all moral judgements are culturally relative or subjective so that there are no such things as moral absolutes
What was Kant's approach to ethics?	Kant's approach was deontological, where the right take precedence over the good, and basic rights and principles guide us to know which goods to follow.
What is Kant's Copernican Revolution?	His main are of study was to investigate the formal structures of pure reasoning, causality, a prior knowledge (knowledge based on experience) and the question of objectivity.
Kant's work	Kant's work was a reaction against the rationalist and empiricists, and he was concerned with the problem of objective knowledge : can I have any knowledge of the world as it seems to me'?. He is asking: 'How do we know what we know and what does it mean to know?'
The views of other Philosophers about knowledge?	1. Descartes - the foundation of knowledge is knowledge of one's own existence: ' I think therefore I am'. Kant criticised this as he said it did not tell us what 'I' is, or even that it is. 2. Leibniz - thought that we can have knowledge untouched by the point of view of any observer. 3. Hume- argued that we cannot have any objective knowledge at all
What did Kant consider	he considered that our own knowledge is not of the world as it is in itself, but of the world as it appears to us.
What does Kant say about human's?	"if our sense organs were different, our languages and thought patterns different, then our view of the world will be different" he is saying that humans can never know the world as it really is (the thing in itself) because as it's experienced, it is changed by our minds
Copernican Revolution	He called this analysis the Copernican Revolution as its implications for us are just as vital as the implications of believing that the solar system revolves around the sun.
Moral Theory	Practical reason looks at evidence and argument and tells you what ought to be done. This sense of the moral 'ought' is something which cannot simply depend on external facts of what the world is like, or the expected consequences of our actions.
what did Kant see people were aware of?	Kant saw that people are aware of the moral at work within them- not as a vague feeling but a direct and powerful experience.
what does Kant try to show in his moral theory?	He tries to show the objectivity of moral judgement and the universal character of moral laws and attempts to base morality on reason as apposed to feelings, inclinations, consequences or religion.
Who's idea does Kant reject?	he rejects Hume's idea that morality is rooted in desires or feelings. He does not reject desires and feelings, but says that they have nothing to do with morality.
what were the three titles of Kant's Reason?	freedom, good will& duty
Hypothetical Imperative	An action that achieves some goal or end.
Does the Hypothetical Imperative apply to everyone?	They are not moral commands to the will, as the do not apply to everyone. You only need to obey them if you want to achieve a goal
Categorical Imperative	A command to perform actions that are absolute moral obligations without reference to other ends.
Does the categorical imperative apply to everyone?	They are moral commands as they tell everyone what to do and do not depend on anything, especially goals or desires. They apply to everyone- they are based on an objective a priori law of reason
Humans as a means and never as an end	-we should not exploit others or treat them as things to achieve an end
Kingdom of ends	-Everyone should act as if every other person was an 'end'. - Self-directed freedom aiming at moral judgement through reason.
Summun Bonum	The supreme good that we all persue though moral acts
Universability	-if an act is right or wrong for one person in a situation, then it is right or wrong for anyone in that situation
Strengths	-very straight forward - based on reason - treat everyone fairly so that majority are happy -clear criteria to assess what is moral -the moral value of an action comes from the action itself
Weaknesses	-doesn't tell you what is the right thing to do in certain situations -its not always possible to separate 'intentions' from 'ends as intentions are closely linked with what we do
Weaknesses 2	Kant is clear when explaining the conflict between duty and inclination but he does not help us understand the conflict between different duties, each of which could be justified.

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