Kant and Morality Essay

Immanuel Kant is said by many to be one of the most influential “thinkers” in the history of Western philosophy (McCormick, n.d.), this being said, most of his theories continue to be taught and are highly respected by society. Kant was a firm believer that the morality of any action can be assessed by the motivation behind it (McCormick, n.d.). In other words, if an action is good but the intention behind the action is not good, the action itself would be considered immoral. Those who follow the utilitarian view would disagree, arguing that an action which benefits the most number of people would be considered moral regardless of the intentions behind it. Kant argues that the intention behind an action matters more than the number of people benefited. This theory of morality falls hand in hand with Kant 's concept of good will, and through examples I hope to explain to readers, in a simple way, what Kant was trying to convey.

Kant develops a principle that we must follow in order to act morally. He explains that we have a duty to act morally. Duties as described by Kant “are rules of some sort combined with some sort of felt constraint or incentive on our choices, whether from external coercion by others or from our own powers of reason.” He calls this overall principle the categorical imperative and it is the fundamental principle of our moral duties. All of our moral actions should follow and should be justified by the categorical imperative, and this means that all

Kant's deontological moral theory also claims that the right action in any given situation is determined by the categorical imperative, which provides a formulation by which we can apply our human reason to determine the right and rational thing to do, which is our duty to do it. This imperative applies to all rational beings independent of their desires and that reason tells us to follow no matter what. By his categorical imperative we

Kant’s deontological ethics focuses on the moral aspects of duty. The rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences but on whether they fulfil our duty. When we act, we should always respect other people, their dignity, and rationality. If our actions come from good will then they have true moral worth.

The categorical imperative was Kant’s answer to this question. He developed this formulation to help guide people to our true moral duties when we are deciding to act. Kant instructs that to determine if an action is a moral duty one must, “Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law of nature,” (Kant.) Put more simply, Kant wants people to consider what

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

In Kant’s Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant discusses morality to revolve around imperatives that remain true and applicable to all situations. Categorical imperatives are rules that must be followed regardless of one’s personal desires which may exemplify greed, power, money. Kant recognizes that these “abilities and traits can become extremely evil and destructive if the will behind these gifts of nature and the character they produce is not good” (13). Kant’s moral principles are based on a priori concepts that are based on reasoning and investigations. A priori reasoning encourages people to act out of duty with the reasoning that people do actions that reflect those duties.

The central element of the Kantian Worldview on Ethics is that rational actions are moral actions and that it is one’s duty to make rational actions. In other words, “one is obligated to follow the moral law that practical reason prescribes” (Jankowiak, 5). This is where the Categorial Imperative comes from. Kant has a complex understanding of universality throughout his philosophy, but it particularly becomes important in his Ethics. Kant believes that Ethics are purely formal and that one must be able to remove any context within an action and still be able to make sense of it.

Would Kant agree with me, I don’t know? Kant seems to push the notion that an act done for any inclination other than “good in itself” may be done “from duty” and not “in accordance with duty” and as such may not have moral worth (Kant & Ellington, 1993, pp. 7-10). I may be completely wrong in my understanding of these concepts, but I believe one may be able to argue either side of this scenario. For instance, I would say that my actions are in accordance with the duty I have to protect my family from harm. My actions were done out of an immediate need to protect my child from harm, but were not done for selfish reasons, but rather in accordance with the duty I have to my child.

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.

Immanuel Kant a philosopher who lived in the 17th- 18th century, created a standard to which we as rational beings should live by known as the categorical imperative. The categorical imperative is a stringent set of guidelines to which we must operate by in order to

The main point of Kant’s idea is that the morality correctness of an act can only be judged by the purpose of it. Particularly, an act can be considered as morally right is only because of its good intention. Different from utilitarianism, which pays more attention to the result, Kant’s concentrate more on the reason behind the act. The second important component of Kantian ethics is the categorical imperative, which is the universal rule that everyone should obey. Under no circumstances is such an act moral, if participant does not follow such rule.

Kant argues that morality should not be based upon empirical observation, but rather morality should be based upon reason alone. By doing this, he eliminates the emotional components concerning morality causing his argument to become flawed. His theory presents a flaw for morality and therefore I will criticize his argument.

He persuasively unveils imperatives both universal and hypothetical, the elements of unconventional practical reason, and examples of extreme controversy that force people to consider situations from a previously unconsidered moral perspective; however, Kant’s initial moral work is not without its critique: ranging from

Immanuel Kant is known as the famous German philosopher who argued two main points in his philosophy: that the human mind creates the structure of the human experience and that reason is the source of morality. More specifically, Kant used his philosophy to argue that in order to figure out what is the right thing, we must rely on reason. Unlike several other philosophers, Kant refused to use religion as a method to know what the law was to determine right and wrong, because he believed it was all knowable based on our intellect. Kant’s key principle throughout his philosophy is to assert that the only way a person can achieve good will is by accomplishing it through duty.