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Immanuel Kant On Good Will Analysis

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Immanuel Kant writes about good will and according to him, good will is very objective. He states that the only thing that is undoubtedly good in the world is the good will itself. Other qualities like wealth, intelligence and bravery, for example, are characteristics in a person that can be used for good or evil. Good will, on the other hand, is unquestionably good because even though it might not bring positive results at all times, the good will in itself was always there and that person was driven by good and pure motivations all along regardless if the end result was good or not. In addition, monetary compensation for a good action would not make a good action “pure” because that person was motivated by external elements instead of his or her own good will. Furthermore, as human beings we possess obligations of good will and these obligations are called “duties”. For example, all people should help somebody …show more content…

Regardless of what the final result might be, good will should always have the intention to do good without any external factors influencing the person to do a good deed. To a certain extent, this ties into the utilitarian philosophy because if good deeds cause pleasure, and pleasure leads to happiness, then that means that the society as a whole is happier and therefore they are more utile and more prosperous. When it comes to defining “good will”, Kant seems to be taking an approach very similar to the one found in the Bible, “so in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew, 7:12) At the end of the day, the intended purpose of these teachings, is to help us live a better and more fulfilling lifestyle by helping those in need and understand why we do these actions. What motivates us to do these actions? Why do we do them? These are all questions that not only Immanuel Kant intend to answer but the Bible as

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