A Moral Evaluation of Child Labor in the Philippines in the Perspective of Immanuel Kant

Kant believes that “In the kingdom of ends everything has either a price or a dignity. Whatever has a price can be replaced by something else as its equivalent; on the other hand, whatever is above all prices, and therefore admits of no equivalent, has dignity.” (Kant, 40) Basically, he explains that man is more than just an object of inclination implemented to abide to ones propositions to attain a certain desire. Man is someone that is priceless that is above all prices and has dignity, and should be treated in a way that conveys that. Additionally, this

Kant also believes that human beings have “unconditional worth.” In his passage of, “The Ultimate worth of Persons,” he says:

This means that a person would do something they are not necessarily interested in but they would do it to accomplish something else. You gave us a wonderful example when you told the story about the twenty-one year old at the party. The people at the party didn’t exactly like this man but because he was able to get them alcohol they let him stay. This boils down to treating people as if they are a meaningful part of society and not just to accomplish a meaningless goal. People are meant to be treated like equals. With this particular aspect of Kant’s view we are able to see where our rights come from. In this theory every human is treated as an equal so theoretically everyone will have the same

Although the construction of childhood has transformed over centuries, it still remains the importance of children’s

Our child labor issue an ongoing world wide effect, currently among America’s society. Researchers even today and our up and down crisis we face economically, leave us with the understanding that poverty is a main cause of child labor. Still in America poor families depend heavenly upon their children working in order to improve their chances of attaining basic necessities. American history goes way back to explain that poverty and a child’s workload come from a lack of not receiving the education which is important for their growing years. There are certain laws and policies that was established to control our child labor issue. Aiming

At first it would appear that Kant presupposes human beings as the only species worthy of morality without giving any explanatory criterion. Kant develops one of his foundational doctrines called “The Categorical Imperative”, which can be summarized in the following sentence: “Act in such a way that you treat humanity in such a way, whether in ourselves or in others, as an end in itself” (Groundwork II). It seems that Kant believes that human beings bar none deserve what he calls ‘respect’ or what we are calling moral consideration.

Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals presents an interesting moral duty: that all people be treated as ends in themselves. As a result to this duty, Kant outlines imperatives adressing how to—and not to—treat other people. Some people regard these imperatives as “strict” and “not applicable” to reality. They believe Kant’s moral imperatives have practical exceptions despite suggestions for strict adherence, and they feel that Kant’s imperatives fail to answer real-world dilemmas; however, such criticisms are misunderstood and narrow-minded. To address such criticisms, it is necessary to first understand Kant’s construction of this duty to others—the Formula of Humanity.

Kant’s ethics differs from utilitarian ethics both in its scope and in the precision with which it guides action. In The Categorical Imperative, Kant emphasizes that human autonomy is the essence of morality. He says that one must act not only in accordance to duty, but for the sake of duty However, According to the Utilitarianism, Mill emphasizes that the actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness. Although the theories of Kant and Mill seem conflicting, they are also similar and both theories are interested in liberty for individuals.

The issue of child welfare is typified in the society mainly because of freedom of choice to be given to the children. There are certain social problems which are discussed frequently in this context. The major problems include the rights of child and access to privileges. It is argued that child is an individual who has no lesser rights than any other individual and he must be given the liberty to enjoy these rights. He must be given food, shelter and clothing without his contribution in the economic activity. He should be given the right to educate himself and the decision to study any particular subject may lie in his own domain.

As an individual, it becomes the duty of one to display good morals and to act according to the society's expectations. Kant continues on with his theories by expressing his reasons behind what is good and bad behavior shown from individuals. Individuals have the decision to make choices in order to maintain the moral principals. Furthermore, to have a better understanding of Immanuel Kant it is important to introduce contexts from the chapter about his theories and reasoning's behind what he believed

Kant has made a difference in metaphysics and epistemology yet his contributions to ethics have been even more substantial. In Kant’s view, the feature that gives an action moral worth is not the outcome that is achieved by the action, but the motive that is behind the action. This is very interesting because a lot of times, we only worry about the outcome of the action instead of our intention behind it. The motive that can award an act with moral value, he argues, is one that arises from universal principles discovered by reason.  Kant says “Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” Kant's next concern is with the faculty of judgment, "If understanding

Children are the outcome of two people’s love, and should be loved with the same burning love the parents have for eachother. Although labor through children has been seen in human history for years, spiking and shrinking through different time periods. Child labor risks are now rising across the world, especially in supply chain countries, according to a report from Maplecroft. This topic did not used to be of much controversy, as it was the norm. In the U.S today, child labor is rarely present, but in other countries it is much more prevalent than we think. Although there is probably not an immediate solution to this problem, people can make small changes in their daily lives to eventually fix this problem once and for all.

Today I want to describe to you one of the biggest obstacles to human rights today. I am sure that most of you don’t know that over 100 million children around the world work in hazardous conditions. Children in Africa, Asia, and Latin America work in extreme heat and are exposed to toxic pesticides that risk their health conditions. Statistics from the International Labor Organization show that ‘’there are about 73 million children between ages 10 and 14, and 218 million children between the ages of 5 and 17, working worldwide’’.  I am here today to convince you that the worst forms of child labor, including child trafficking, commercial and sexual exploitation, child domestic work, and hazardous child labor are still a concern today, and poverty, the lack of social protection, and the lack of decent work for adults are some of the reasons why child labor hasn’t been eradicated yet.

7. Kant’s ethics gives us firm standards that do not depend on results; it injects a humanistic element into moral decision making and stresses the importance of acting on principle and from a sense of duty. Critics, however, worry that (a) Kant’s view of moral worth is too restrictive, (b) the categorical imperative is not a sufficient test of right and wrong, and (c) distinguishing between treating people as means and respecting them as ends in themselves may be difficult in practice.

People have an intrinsic worth above mere things or possessions. In order for people to cohabitate peacefully and respectively, there’s a need for universal laws based on good will and absolute moral beliefs. It is this moral belief which is based on reason and must be uniformly abided by. This allows humanity to function as an amicable society; an amicable society that is achieved by treating ourselves and others with respect and dignity. Immanuel Kant’s theory known as the categorical imperative expressed an absolute belief in universal moral laws which enables humanity to be treated well. (Rachels EMP 129 & 139)