Kant's Categorcial Imperative

Deontological
1. Concerned with what people do rather than the consequences
2. Can be seen as duty based
3. Kant rejected the consequentialist view of ethics.
Categorical Imperative: an absolute and universal sense of moral duty which directs humans to the right actions
A priori
1. (as a self-evident truth)
2. Kant argued that what makes us human is that we all have a moral sense.
  1. Something others may call a conscience
  2. We all have the ability to make chioces
    1. The fact that we have a moral sense means we can choose to do good or evil
    2. God doesn't tell us what to do or control our behaviour
The heart of Kant's moral philosophy is how we decide whether something is good or not
1. Problem with trying to decide whether one's motives are genuine or just convenient for the moment
2. Kant developed a simple test to see if something was moral
  1. Universalistaion
    1. If, as humans we all possess a good will, then for anything to be moral it must be equally applicable to me as anyone else
      1. (Don't be hypocritical)
    2. Put simply: Duties are duties and there can be no exceptions
Kant developed two kinds of duty or obligation
1. Non - moral duty
  1. always introduced but the word 'if'
  2. Referes to situations which require a very specific action, for example "if i treat my customer fairly then it will be good for trade"
  3. called the HYPOTHETICAL IMPERITIVE
2. The Categorical Imperative
  1. First version is to apply reason to my wish to do something and ensure that it is without contradiction and therefore a moral duty of all humans.
    1. So act that the maxim of your will could always hold at the same time as a principle establishing universal law
      1. Maxim: rules which are derived from the categorical imperative
  2. Second version (sometimes called the practical imperative) expresses what Kant considered to be very important: treat people as ends in themselves and NOT means to an end
  3. Finally: act as if you live in a kingdom of ends
Weaknesses of the Categorical Imperative
1. Kant said that obligation was the reason for acting morally but doesn't explain why that motive is superior to emotions such as love and compassion
2. Applying reason to actions has lead many to argue for self-interest as a motive
3. Doesn't consider consequences
Strengths of the Categorical Imperative
1. Straightforward/easy to follow
2. Intrinsic value of humans
3. Non-selfish - focuses on the greater good while still thinking about minorities, unlike utilitarianism which can sometimes ignore the minorities

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Kant's Categorcial Imperative

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	Created by elenaslaney122 almost 11 years ago