Kant's Moral Obligation

Kant argues that mere conformity with the moral law is not sufficient for moral goodness. I will argue that Kant is right. In this essay I will explain why Kant distinguishes between conforming with the moral law and acting for the sake of the moral law, and what that distinction means to Kant, before arguing why Kant was right.

Deontology is an ethical theory concerned with duties and rights. The founder of deontological ethics was a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Kant’s deontological perspective implies people are sensitive to moral duties that require or prohibit certain behaviors, irrespective of the consequences (Tanner, Medin, & Iliev, 2008). The main focus of deontology is duty: deontology is derived from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. A duty is morally mandated action, for instance, the duty never to lie and always to keep your word. Based on Kant, even when individuals do not want to act on duty they are ethically obligated to do so (Rich, 2008).

Deontology is an ethical position that examines the morality of an action based on the action’s adherence to rule or rules. Many times is described as obligation or rule based ethics (Alexander). Therefore, the only actions that are considered moral are those that are performed solely for one’s duty to the moral law rather than one’s desire. Deontology is the school of thought that Kant comes from. Immanuel Kant was a critical figure in philosophy in the modern age. His work was the foundation of the most famous form of Deontology.

The laws on the books and consequent court choices identifying with them have, after some time, been fixing to two inquiries: whether ladies have the privilege to have premature births, and when does an unborn youngster have a case to privileges of its own. The point of interest choice Roe v. Wade from 1973 goes far in characterizing who gets rights and when. As indicated by the choice composed by Justice Blackmun, the privilege to premature birth is guarded by the fourteenth Amendment. The content of the revision particularly utilizes "conceived" in the criteria to qualify somebody for the security rights ensured in the correction. At the point when the ethical issue of when another life starts is disregarded, it refutes any rights that a gathering of cells and/or baby could have. (Blackmun) However, Roe versus Wade additionally puts the confinement that, at one point (typically in the third trimester of pregnancy), the unborn youngster achieves a state of feasibility which allows it the privilege not to be prematurely ended, aside from cases of assault or interbreeding or if having the child is perilous to the mother. (Blackmun) The rights and cutoff points set out in Roe versus Wade speak to what the vast majority in America think about fetus removal, paying little respect to what they think about it ethically. (Gallup) Roe v. Wade isn't the main huge Supreme Court case

The subject of fetus removal will dependably be begging to be proven wrong on whether it is ethically, lawfully, ormedically the correct thing to do. In the mid 70's the situation of Roe v. Wade left a mark on the world by overthrowing the Texas law that made premature birth unlawful not withstanding when it jeopardized the women.When the Supreme Court decided for Roe ladies could have a fetus removal amid their first trimester and it was viewed as moral in light of the fact that it was their own particular right. To guard thistopic I must take a gander at what it involves, first is the most imperative and that is the risk to themother. Another reason is the considered bringing an existence into the world that you aren't prepared toprovide

Abortion: “the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.” Is abortion murder? Do you believe in a women’s right to chose? This topic has been an argument since 1500 BCE. What do you think or feel is the right decision regarding abortion? There are many arguments that are pro-abortion and there are also many that oppose abortion. “If women become pregnant, they should accept the responsibility that comes with producing a child” (ethics - Abortion: Responsibility of the Mother.” BBC, BBC,), abortion should be illegal.

It is a woman’s right to make decisions about her body. If she is the one that undergoes the stress that comes with childbirth, then it should be her right to ,and her right alone to decide whether or not she wants to go through it or not. Not doing so would violate her right to freedom of choice, as well as lead to unsafe abortions that could harm the mother (Nair, 2010). Another question is how could you kill a fetus or embryo when it is the same as a human being? Which begs the question, if the fetus is alive, then so are the eggs and sperm? How do you make the distinction?

According to Kant, an action can only be morally right when it is motivated by duty alone, as opposed to being motivated by duty and emotion combined or just pure emotion (Kant, Groundwork, 397). In order to defend this statement, I will begin with explaining Kant’s view of morality and what kind of judgments we make in order to discover what morality is and how it relates to the moral law. I will then proceed to explain how Kant defines duty and how it relates to having a good will. Finally, I will explain what exactly the moral law commands and tie it back in to why morally correct actions are purely motivated by duty.

According to Kant, We have these absolute duties to ourselves and these duties to oneself become the supreme principle of all duties. Therefore, these supreme self-duties are the reason why moral ethics exist, and without our duties to oneself there would be no other duties, nor would we, as a species, survive at all. However, these self-regarding duties can be very contradicting, but can help us understand the bigger picture of the categorical imperative.

Kant describes the moral dilemma of telling a lie. Kant applies that the meaning behind the false claim is what determines its morality or whether it shall be accepted. The morality of the act relies upon whether it is “clever” and self-benefitting act or whether it is a matter of duty to make the false promise. (Kant, p. 431) He claims that one commits the act of lying in order to free themselves from a their current situations of disadvantageousness; however, it is important for he who plans to commit the lie to ask himself if much greater difficulties may arise in the future from committing this indecency. If one were to act in respect to the universal law, he would develop the habit of never making a promise when he has no intention of keeping it.

Deontology is primarily an ethical theory to analyze and drawing a conclusion from an ethical dilemma. The word deontology originates from the Greek word deon, meaning “fidelity” or “duty.” This ethical framework originally based on one’s duty, which focuses on to do the right thing.

Partial-birth abortions in the third trimester, and the recent “day-after” or the RU-486 pill, now add a new attitude on the abortion issue. Partial-birth abortions and abortions in the third trimester are exceedingly controversial, because they involve the termination and/or expulsion of an actual fetus from the womb, whereas many early-prenatal abortions involve the expulsion of the embryo. In some countries, and for a while in America, partial-birth abortions meant that the baby was breached halfway through the womb, and then its neck was broken, which killed the baby instantly. Since then, the United States has banned it as a result of the many infuriated pro-life and even some pro-choice members who found it to be extremely inhumane. The RU-486 pill sends messages telling the brain that the woman that was inseminated, was already pregnant, and that the ovum that had been created, is removed because the body believes it is already impregnated. These operations raise many of the same problems as abortion itself.

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?

According to the findings by Mariotti (2012), the psychosocial and emotional components are an integral part of every woman’s pregnancy, and she can make decisions of whether to sustain life in her own uterus or end it (p. 269). At the same time, numerous studies have questioned the personhood of the fetus to provide well-evidenced approaches to evaluation of its social and legal status. Does a woman provide it with all necessary resources and substances like a donor? Does she have a right to extract it from her body in case she does not want to give it life, has some health care issues that put her and the baby at risk, or carries a fetus that was the result of a rape? All those questions are easier to ask than answer, but women should have the right to do with their body everything they want.

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?