Kant's Groundwork For The Metaphysics Of Morals

Duty to me is accomplishing a task that needs to be done regardless the motivation you have, how sick your feelin or how long of a ruck march you had this morning. Whether you love it or hate it the task is there to be done. If one does not fulfill their duties on a regular basis, then those around them have to pick up the slack, and any sense of loyalty begins to become tarnished duty and loyalty are intertwined in private first class Ansons eyes. like i said in the last paragraph when talking about loyalty in order to attain loyalty there are duties that must be completed inorder to seem loyal to another soldier or friend.

First, all individuals do have a duty to what is right, whether they act accordingly or not. All citizens are held to a duty to uphold the laws, if there was no duty then laws would not exist. Morality coincides with being loyal to the laws, being a disciplined person, and living an orderly life. These essentials are all present in Kant’s perception of duty.

The good will calls for certain obligations known as duties. Kant suggests that duty ought to be done out of acknowledgement of the importance of moral law. The first proposition of duty that Kant puts forward states that actions are good only when they are committed out of a sense of duty. Moral actions are not done in the desire of a particular result, and the importance is instead found in the purpose behind the action. Kant argues that moral worth is never found in what is hoped to be attained by a certain choice, but in the maxim according to which the action was done. Duty should always be done out of recognition of significance of abiding by the moral law.

In Kant’s second proposition he states “an action that is done from duty doesn’t get its moral value form the purpose that’s to be achieved through it but from the maxim that is involves, giving the reason why the person acts thus.” Kant makes it clear that any action must be done for its own sake and not for the sake of any other end. The moral worth of some action is to be found in the maxim itself rather than the effects it produces. Kant says that the difference between acting from duty and acting according to duty would hold no weight. By looking only at the end of our actions we would not be able to distinguish between people who act because they reason it is their duty to do so and people who act because they desire some of the end. We could all act for self-interested reasons because we desire some outcome. Kant says that

Kant’s first proposition is an action has moral worth only if it is done out of duty, such as when someone who has absolutely no interest in donating to the poor does so out of duty. His second proposition is that action has moral worth not because of its aim, but because of the maxim on which it is based, meaning that it would not matter if the intent failed, as long as the principle was good. His third proposition is that duty is the necessity of an action from respect for the law, such as if an individual is in an embarassing spot, they could will the lie, but not will the maxim to lie. Kant argues that everything is secretly done in self benefit, an example can be an individual helping another merely for the fulfilled feeling.

There is two views of the form of ethics concerning towards the law. [1] Abel states teleological view is when someone is viewing the existence of the action and deems it as a form of excuse. The second view, a deontological view is the normative ethical position that judges on the morality of an action and based on the action’s adherence to a rule or rules. For example, Immanuel Kant follows a form of deontological because he introduced the form of categorical imperative which states that if any actions are not universal then they are considered immoral.

In today’s society duty is defined differently than it was in the days of Ovid, Virgil and Valmiki. Duty used to be treated as something the person wants to do for their ancestors and their devotion to one’s family. Today the closest person we have to this is a soldier. Soldiers work for their country and to protect their families from harm. Many times the soldiers go into the army because of a sense of moral obligation to serve their country, rather than for pleasure. Soldiers fit into all of these writers ideas of duty because they are motivated to serve their country. Duty is a big part of society and is still around today, but it is seen in different parts of society then it was back then.

Immanuel Kant was one of the most important European philosophers and lived from 1724 to 1804. In his time he created Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Metaphysic of Morals. Kant starts by stating that “By identifying a good will as the only unconditional good, he denies that the principles of good willing can be fixed by reference to an objective good or telos at which they aim.” This ties into Kants next part of his work because it describes two shopkeepers that decided to act in the same way towards their customers, but are motivated differently. The shops are relatively located near each other. Both shops want the most business to gain the most profit. One shopkeeper decides to give back correct change only because he wants a good business reputation. This shopkeeper does not want his customers to go elsewhere if they think he is cheating them out of money. The customers could easily walk to another store to avoid being scammed. The other shopkeeper decides to give back the correct change to his customers because he thinks it is morally right to do so. He does this because he thinks it’s right to do this even if his shop business wasn’t affected. Kant states that “Action that would have been done by anyone who had a morally worthy maxim as action in accordance with duty.” This states that the shopkeeper has a duty to do the morally right thing when it comes to his customers. It all leads back to the fundamentals you learned

Duty comes from the Old French word “Duete” originating in the late 1250’s to early 1300’s, a past participle of the Latin word “Devoir”. In which both of these word’s meaning to have an obligation or commitment resulting in action of oneself due to moral commitment. An early philosopher by the name of Marcus Tullius Cicero said “Duty is a result of being a human, is a result of one’s particular place in life, is a result in one character, and also a result of one’s own moral expectations.” Many people even believe in a “Civic Duty” that is one being responsible enough to obey the law, pay taxes and serve on a jury, These are just a few of many “Civic Duties” people acknowledge in our society today. The Army has even accepted its own meaning

Can suicide be justified as morally correct? This is one of the many questions Immanuel Kant answers in, “The Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals”. Kant discusses many questions with arguable answers, which explains why he is one of the most controversial philosophers still today. Throughout Kant’s work, multiple ideas are considered, but the Categorical Imperative is one of the most prevalent. Though this concept is extremely dense, the Categorical Imperative is the law of freedom that grounds pure ethics of the metaphysics of ethics. Categorical imperatives are the basis of morality because they provoke pure reasons for every human beings actions. By the end of his work, one will understand Kant’s beliefs on morality, but to explain

In Immanuel Kant’s Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, the theory of ethics is majorly based on acting according to duty. From this thought he created The Categorical Imperative; “act always according to that maxim whose universality as a law you can at the same time will. This is the only condition in which a will can never be in conflict with itself, and such an imperative is categorical.” (42) Basically, morality is needed to choose “right” over “the pleasing.” From this, there are two formulations of the categorical imperative; the universalization of one’s principles, and to treat everyone as an end and rather than a means. Failing to act according to reason can lead to an inconsistency of the will in one or more of the following

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

"Acting out of duty," according to Kant means performing the action that one wants to perform. It does not refer to what the final result will be after one performs a specific action because one does not have that type of control. If a person finds the need to do something or has a desire to do something, it is up to them to do what they have to do to put in the effort to carry out that task. Regardless of what the final result or outcome is, it is out of one's control. However, depending on how one carries out their actions, the final result mat somewhat reflect the actions that were carried out.

Duty for Kant is the underlying role of morality. Our duty and intentions combine to form our will, and the only one thing in the world that is good is a good will. To act according to duty means we are acting according to principals, not according to the final outcome of our actions. Principals is another important factor in this theory, our actions must be congruent with principals that can be made universal. To be universal, the maxim must apply to absolutely everyone, everywhere, and anytime. Another stipulation in Kant’s theory is that we should never treat a person solely as a means to our own ends. It is morally wrong to use someone solely to enhance our own self-interest.

This act from duty is to do right things for specific reason, in this matter motive plays a key role. Motives which lead humanity have more standing rather than selfish motive or self-agenda.