Philosophy 323

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Philosophy 323

• Normative Ethical Theory
• Kantian Ethics

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Immanuel Kant

• Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) revolutionized
  philosophical ethics. Prior to Kant, people
  sought the origin of morality in the natural
  order, in the ends proper to human beings, or in
  feelings. In contrast, Kant seeks the conditions
  of the possibility of morality and locates them
  in autonomy the wills capacity for
  self-legislation.
• Why in a capacity of the will? Because a good
  will is intrinsically good, other features of our
  character are potentially turned to evil, and as
  a matter of psychological fact reason is not
  particularly suited to produce happiness.

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Deontological Ethics

• Due to its focus on the will, Kants ethics are
  deontological actions are morally right to the
  extent that they derive from motives of duty, as
  opposed to motives of inclination.
• When we think about moral obligation, he argued,
  what we need to account for is its categorical
  character, the fact that it commands us
  absolutely.

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Whats with the Categorical?

• Kant is convinced that everything in nature acts
  according to laws. We are unique in that we do so
  consciously, in obedience to laws of reason.
• These laws of reason Kant calls imperatives.
• Following his account of obligation, Kant makes a
  distinction between hypothetical and categorical
  imperatives.
• A law of reason (imperative) is hypothetical when
  the will is conditionally commanded relative to
  some end (think prudence).
• A categorical imperative, on the other hand,
  commands absolutely, that is unconditionally.

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What about the TRA?

• Reflection on the categorical character of moral
  obligation leads Kant to a TRA that is also his
  fundamental moral principle the Categorical
  Imperative.
• Applying the categorical imperative to proposed
  actions provides a principle of moral evaluation,
  directing us to the right actions.
• There are a number of formulations of the CI. We
  are going to look at two one that emphasizes the
  moral dignity of persons, and one that focuses on
  the universalizability of moral claims.

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CI Humanity Formulation

• CIHumanity An action is right iff the action
  treats persons (including oneself) as ends in
  themselves rather than as means to our ends.
• There is both a negative (dont treat them as
  means) and a positive (treat them as ends in
  themselves) requirement contained in the
  formulation.
• The positive requirement is captured by Kant with
  the notion of dignity, which all rational agents
  possess by virtue of their being rational.

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CI Universal Law

• CIUniversal Law Act always in such a way that
  you can will the maxim of your action to be
  universal law.
• Maxim the subjective principle of an action (In
  situation X, I will do Y to accomplish Z).
• Despite the proximity of this formulation to the
  Golden Rule, it is really quite different. The UL
  formulation imposes a consistency requirement.
• You should only act in such a way that everyone
  else should act and that it is possible for them
  to act.

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Criticisms of Kantian Ethics

• Some have argued that Kants focus on the
  categorical nature of moral obligation results in
  an overly narrow conception of morality.
• What is the role of moral emotions or sentiments
  like sympathy?
• Another common criticism is that Kants ethics
  are too rigorous.
• The example of lying.