Kant Ethical Theory Research Paper

The study of ethics is the study of right and wrong in human behavior. The R.v Lavallee case revolves around ethics. The court released Lavallee as innocent on the basis that she is medically ill with Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS). The two most renowned ethicists, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill would view this case differently. Kantianism is associated solely with Immanuel Kant. In comparison, John Stuart Mill, an opponent of Immanuel Kant’s ideas, uses a utilitarian approach. This essay will briefly give an overview of the case and the BWS. Then, it will show how both theories view the case. Overall, this paper argues that Mill’s theory is a better theory that supports the verdict.

Morrison (2011) writes Immanuel Kant founded duty-based ethics, also known as deontology. Kant believed that everything can be used for good, but could also be used for evil. Kant also believed good will is the only good that can exist without clarification. Good will does not give benefit to the person choosing it. Morrison (2011) explains one cannot be ethical if using people to get what they want based on the Kantian view. Additionally, the consequences of the action or the end-result of the action should not be part of the process of decision-making. Kant theorizes what is good and right for one person should be good and right for everyone. Kant’s theory deals in absolutes and does not consider complex issues (Morrison, 2011).

In other words, doing a duty because you personally feel that it is good, does not make it a good duty. To illustrate, let's say your brother mentions doing a little spring cleaning and is needing help cleaning out the attic. He asks if you could help him clean the attic. At this point, you either: help your brother clean the attic because he would be happy, help your brother clean the attic because you love to clean, or reluctantly help your brother clean the attic even though you have a final project due for class the following day. According to Kant, the final option would be morally correct, doing so because of good will, which later portrays inclination.

Kant believes that morality and duty go hand in hand. In a more logical way of explaining this, he believes that people should do good things for each other because they are acting with a good will. When people act according to principle, that is true morality, not thinking about the consequences of their actions whenever the consequences are good or bad. When people think about the action they are doing, then they fail to have a driving force of duty, in return, they fail to have a good sense of moral.

Emmanuel Kant has three propositions of morality. One of the propositions is that in order to have moral worth, an action must be from a moral duty. The second proposition is that “action whether the action is in accord with duty has been done from duty or from some selfish purpose is easy”(Cahn 76). The third proposition is that “action accord with duty and the subject has in addition an immediate inclination to do the action”(Cahn 76). Each one of the propositions has a different distinct and they are connected to morality. There are several actions that can be done out of duty, while others can be done out of desire. Each one of these two are used to determine if it’s done in a moral way. Kant gives two examples, one example is about a self-interested shopkeeper and the other is a reluctant benefactor. In the self-interested shop keeper, the dealer is focused on having fixed prices for everyone. He needs the customers to keep coming

For years, there has been a growing attitude, not just in the U.S. but across the world, that moral wrongdoing on any level of power should not and will not be tolerated. When the news broke that Volkswagen and its corporate ladder had knowingly and wrongfully altered their vehicles to cheat U.S. emissions standards over the last decade, the consequences that were handed down were significant. Their punishment ranged from a $16.5 billion payout in the form of recalls for half a million vehicles, to the loss of market rights across the world, and indirectly, their reputation. As a result, a new attitude is developing in which society values greater ethical accountability towards individuals and companies.

Kant's description of moral action are twofold, the first being an action that is done in accordance with duty which means that it is done with the duty in mind, but may be motivated by personal inclinations or desires. The second is from duty, which is done purely with regards to the duty itself without taking into consideration one’s own desires and interests. These being the two extremes on a scale of sorts, as judging a person's actions as being either would be nigh on impossible, but for one's self, this is a scale through which one must judge and police their own actions.

Kant was born in Germany in the Age of Enlightenment where Europe had two major events that changed it in terms of politics, social, and cultural. It was the Renaissance and the Storming of the Bastille in France and the eighteenth-century. A lot of scientists, writers, and philosophers have emerged, Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, Jean Jacques Rousseau, etc. These philosophers brought up new maxims, new theories that were taboo. In that perspective, Kant wrote Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, a book on Duty Ethics. For Kant, Duty Ethics is defined as a moral obligation, maxims that you cannot bind under any circumstances. The main two principles are the first principle of the categorical imperative and the second

Emmanuel Kant was an influential philosopher and strong proponent of the modern era. Besides his large contribution to epistemology and metaphysics, his work in ethics was just as substantial. Kant’s ethics came to propose an objective morality, where moral judgments is not only true according to a person 's subjective view. He believed the moral worth of an action is not determined by its consequence but the motive behind it. Through Kant’s ethics, he demonstrates this duty through his unconditional moral principle, the categorical imperative. The categorical imperative expresses that morality is not about the outcome (good or bad), but the right action regardless of the outcome. It is the responsibility to do one 's duty for its own sake and not in pursuit of one’s own desire.

Immanuel Kant created a theory regarding human morality centered around the concepts of “good will” and “duty”. That is people should act morally just to be “good” and not really evaluate if the action directly benefits the individual or not. Secondarily, Kant’s theory is centered around the duty’s and obligations of the person deliberating a moral action. This is that when evaluating a decision, you should try to act in the best interest of who you are obligated to consider ex: family members, employer, community, etc. These two concepts are the foundation of his two moral principles the Hypothetical Imperative and the Categorical Imperative. Kant describes the categorical imperative as the supreme principle

A man named Emmanuel Kant developed an entirely different way of determining ethical conduct by focusing on obligations and duties. He argued that the ethical conduct should be based on reasons drawn from simple and unbending rational premises. He used a nonconsequentialist approach known as deontological approach which means the morality of an action is determined by whether it confirms to a moral principle. Kant believed that is a rule was valid then it must apply in different circumstances. While doing some observations, he noticed the difference between duties and inclinations. Inclinations doesn't have any moral worth because people who spreading joy are going to do it regardless. Duty is what a person should do. Kant's philosophies were

In the late 18th century one of the most influential philosophers by the name of Immanuel Kant introduced the third major ethical philosophy, Deontology. The basis behind Deontology is that people are duty bound to act morally by certain standards despite the outcome. Determining whether a person’s actions are morally right involves look at the intent of the actions. Like other ethic theories, Deontologist applies the golden rule of treating other people the way you would want them to treat you. Deontology can be broken down into three different theories: agent-centered, patient centered, and contractualist. Each branch of Deontology can be traced back in some way to Immanuel Kant. Can Deontology be applied to today’s society?

Engineers are trusted individuals which the public has set high standards for. The public relies on engineers to efficiently, and accurately determine the safety of all products they create. Engineers are required to follow safety procedures in order to ensure the quality of the products they create. However, are these procedures enough to ensure the safety of the public? Or can additional actions be taken in order to improve the safety of a product? If so, to what extent should engineers be required to take matters into their own hands and ensure the safety of products, in return reducing the number of injuries and fatal accidents?

German philosopher Kant was first to introduce the Kantian ethics; hence, the named after him. According to Professor Elizabeth Anscombe, Immanuel Kant was Unitarianism’s rival; he believed actions that are taboo should be completely prohibited at all times. For instance, murder should be prohibited. Even though nowadays a person cannot be punished if death is involved as a self defense, from Kant’s perspective this is still prohibited, although sometimes these actions bring more happiness to the big majority of people than sorrow. Kant stated that before acting, one should ask his/her self: am I acting rationally and in a way that everyone will act as I purpose to act? Is my action going to respect the moral law or just my own purpose? If the answer to those questions is a no, the action must be abandoned. Kant’s theory is an example of the deontological theory that was developed in the age of enlightenment. According to Elizabeth, these theories say that “the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences but on whether they fulfill our duty.”( Anscombe, 2001) Kant said that morality is built based on what he called “Hypothetical Imperatives”, but rather principles called “Categorical Imperatives” he referred to it as the supreme principle of morality. (Texas A&M University, n.d.) Cavico and Mujtaba reported on their book that Kant stated that morality

Kantian ethics emphasizes on two conditions for an action to be morally good. The first, that an action only has moral worth if it is done for the sake of duty. The second is that an action is considered right if its maxim can be willed as a universal law. Kantian ethics then is working on the basis of duty and universality. In failing to recognize the multiple aspects of morality, Kantian ethics shows inadequacy as a moral theory. (Hinman, 2008)