Preview

An Outline of Kant's Foundations of Metaphysics of Morals

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1404 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
An Outline of Kant's Foundations of Metaphysics of Morals
Preface

The foundation of the metaphysics of morals is a critical examination of a pure practical reason.

The present foundations is the search for and establishment of the supreme principle of morality.

Method: analytically from common knowledge to the determination of its supreme principle; then , synthetically from the examination of this principle and its sources back to common knowledge.

Division:
1. the common rational knowledge of morals -> the philosophical rational knowledge of morals
2. the popular moral philosophy -> the metaphysics of morals
3. the metaphysics of morals -> the critical examination of pure practical reason (its foundation)

.transition from the common rational knowledge of morals to the philosophical

（一）a good will: good without qualification

 gifts of nature: talents of mind: intelligence, wit, judgment qualities of temperament: courage, resoluteness, perseverance
If the will ( which is to make use of them) is not good, they can become bad.
 gifts of fortune: power, riches, honor, health, well-being, contentment(happiness)
A good will is needed to correct their influence on the mind.
Thus, the good will seems to constitute the indispensible condition of the worthiness to be happy.
 some qualities: moderation in emotions and passions, self-control, calm deliberation
They can become bad without the principle of good will. (eg: the coolness of villain)

A good will is not good because of the end, but only because of its willing, i.e., it is good of itself.
Even if the end cannot be achieved because of the unfortunate fate , only the good will had its full worth of itself.
Usefulness and fruitlessness can neither diminish or augment this worth. Its usefulness would be only its setting.
The absolute worth of the good will alone.

Reason’s proper function must be to produce a will which is good in itself but not good merely as a means. This will must be the highest good and the condition of all
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Lord of the flies
    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Lord of the flies

    With proof from the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding I can say a person’s environment factors into their overall attitude, people naturally have evil thoughts, but will rules around them they are good. At the beginning of the book on page 38 Ralph says “Shut up! What! Listen!”. From the start of the look Ralph has felt power and the slight change of letting go of rules and becoming his natural evil controlling self. Ralph wants to keep order and the only way to keep order is with rules. Rules are what separate a person from doing whatever they want and being a bad person with doing good. From a more easily transitioned to showing evil we see on page 40 “His voice rose to a shriek of terror as jack snatched his glasses off his face.” Jack has no rules therefore he does whatever he wants and acts evil. If he was naturally good he would have felt some slight guilt for taking glasses from someone who can’t see without them. Essentially humans show their true nature given the opportunity that was given in Lord of The flies.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Motivation Concepts Table And Analysis
    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Motivation Concepts Table And Analysis

    The Will Theory is based on that will initiates and drives action and decides whether or not to act and how to behave when acting…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Kant's Grounding For The Metaphysics Of Morals Summary
    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Kant's Grounding For The Metaphysics Of Morals Summary

    Immanuel Kant’s Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals starts off by saying there is only one thing that is good without qualification which is a good will. Something can only be good if it is well-matched with a good will. In fact, “a good will is” according to him, “is good not because of what it effects or accomplishes, nor because of its fitness to attain some proposed end; it is good only through its willing i.e., it is good in itself” (7). He states that these specific obligations of a good will are called duties and then makes three propositions about them. Kant then says that “I should never act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim…

    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    PHI2000 The Good Life
    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages

    PHI2000 The Good Life

    Aristotle believes that one’s accomplishments in being happy are the driving force to a “Good Life”. The good life creates a happiness that relates to one functioning well and reason. Aristotle believes that it takes time, hard work and restraint to get to the employ the habits of reasoning and according to him everything has a purpose (Rachels and Rachels, pg 54). Aristotle states that “Good” has rightly been defined as “that at which all things aim” and that people identify happiness with living well or doing well (Sommers & Sommers, 2010).…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Phil 103 Final
    • 1037 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Phil 103 Final

    1A. According to Kant, good will is the only thing that is absolutely good without qualification. Good will is the only thing that is unconditionally good. Good will is what makes all other good things truly good. Things can be good, but not without qualification. The will is good because the intention itself is good, rather than a desired result or some outside reasoning. All in all it is the honest and unselfish intention of a will.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Lucifer Effect Analysis
    • 1423 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Lucifer Effect Analysis

    Zimbardo mentions seven slopes to evil but the most of common ones and difficult to recognize are mindlessly taking the first small step and diffusion of personal responsibility. Most people don’t see themselves as evil because they always makeup a story for their wrongdoings and they are not directly responsible for an issue. According to self-justification strategies, we will find a way or an excuse to convince ourselves that it’s not our faults or something nicer in positive situation to make us feel better. Zimbardo uses Milgram experiments as an example that evil start with a small 15 volt and increases at 15V intervals up to 450V. Because of self-justification, when increasing the volt of electricity, the participants won’t feel shame and guilt for their immoral behavior since the technician would take full responsibility for consequences. Recently, there are a lot of chemical and fake products as rice, eggs and beef in Asia market. At the beginning, store owners only purchase those products even knowing they are fake since they are inexpensive and if they don’t sell it, others do. Later, many of them end up producing and selling them to make…

    • 1423 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Study Guide
    • 2694 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Study Guide

    •a systematic exposition of a particular view about what is the nature and basis of good or right…

    • 2694 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    The Euthyphro Dilemma
    • 2677 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The Euthyphro Dilemma

    First I will discuss ‘divine command theory’, one horn of the dilemma (2). Next, I will talk about the other horn, which includes all theories about ethics (or meta-ethics) that aren’t related to God’s will (1). After examining the weaknesses of each option, I will consider – and argue against - the alternative options presented by theists. Finally, I will state the reasons why the arguments for divine command theory aren’t strong enough, and why (1) is the most sensible option to choose.…

    • 2677 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    R. V. Keegstra : in Support of the Dissent
    • 2805 Words
    • 12 Pages

    R. V. Keegstra : in Support of the Dissent

    What does freedom of expression really mean? Why is it important to our democratic society? In the landmark case of R. v. Keegstra (1990), the issues of freedom of expression and hate speech is brought in front of the Supreme Court of Canada. The case also deals with issues of whether sections 319(2) and 319(3)(a) of the Criminal Code violated section 2(b) and section 11(d) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The courts view that the objectives of having freedom of speech are correlated with democracy in the sense that for members of society to have their voices heard, they must be free to speak on matters that provide value back to society. This case has served as precedence for other freedom of expression cases. R. v. Keegstra can be looked at through many of the legal principles, but for the purposes of this essay, I will focus on the Offense Principle. This principle, brought forward by Joel Feinberg, is a tangent of John Mill’s Harm Principle, which deals with non-physical harm, such as hate speech. This is evident when looking at R. v. Keegstra, as the Offense Principle is the best principle to articulate why the dissenting judges ruled the way they did. I believe that the lead dissenting judge, Beverly McLachlin, ruled accurately in her judgement and I intend to support this ruling throughout this essay. As well, I will provide a summery of R. V. Keegstra, look at Philosophical principles as…

    • 2805 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Definition Essay On Willpower
    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Definition Essay On Willpower

    Defining willpower is very difficult. Willpower has many different names, such as determination, self-control, or resisting temptations. The use of willpower helps individuals choose not to do something that would be detrimental to their future life goals and short goals. It can also be looked at as the act of establishing good reasons for an individual to either do something or not to and then react upon them. It is a conscious effort to regulate one’s self by choosing to do so. For example, a short term goal might be choosing to cut out processed sugar so an individual may lose weight or a long term goal of no sugars for maintaining a healthy weight. “At its essence, willpower is the ability to resist short-term temptations in order…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Could You Be Justified in Taking One Innocent Life in Order to Save the Lives of Many?
    • 2613 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Could You Be Justified in Taking One Innocent Life in Order to Save the Lives of Many?

    It is the attempt to devise and establish a set of principles, which can then be used as guidelines and applied to practical ethical problems.…

    • 2613 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cultural Relativism: The Minimum Conception Of Cultural Values
    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Cultural Relativism: The Minimum Conception Of Cultural Values

    Moral schools of thought dictate ethical behavior, however, every culture assigns ethical and moral values differently (Lecture 1). Without a moral or ethical structure, society would not prosper. Clashing cultural values make defining morality complicated. Ethicists argue the minimum conception of morality establishes a starting point based on reason that defines and installs a code of morality or ethics. The minimum conception of morality is an “effort to guide one’s conduct by reason—that is, to do what there are the best reasons for doing—while giving equal weight to the interests of each individual affected by one’s action” (Rachels 13).…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Everyone Gets Us What Is Good
    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Everyone Gets Us What Is Good

    In this paper, I will argue on the argument which is about proving that every action that gets us what we want is good and that all good actions are moral. This argument is not a sound argument. This is because the conclusion of the argument on morality is not supported by the premises. The argument fails to define what is good and what is moral, that morality is not all about what is good for us but is good for others, and that there are also actions that get us what we do not want.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Critical Race Theory
    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Critical Race Theory

    * The CLS developed this idea further w.r.t the so-called ‘first principles; and the idea that these principles were produced by historical circumstances and historic-specific methods of analysis. This also lead to the idea that the basic presumptions underlying and determining the doctrines (not merely doctrines themselves) are contingent rather than necessary.…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To Gain Which Is Worth Having, It May Be Necessary to Lose Everything Else
    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages

    To Gain Which Is Worth Having, It May Be Necessary to Lose Everything Else

    “To gain which is worth having, it may be necessary to lo lose everything else.” A quote by Bernadette Devlin, which as I understand means that sometimes In our life there will come a point that we lose everything that we think is of value to us in order to gain what’s really valuable. In the first book of The Heroes of Olympus “The Lost Hero” by Rick Roirdan the protagonist Jason Grace lost his memory but gained new ones that would benefit not only him but also his friends. In addition implying this quote in religion, as human nature we might think we know what’s good for us but God knows what’s best for us. There is a saying that “you can’t fill up a cup that is full because it would just over flow.” I agree on both this essay would show that the quote “To gain which is worth having, it may be necessary lose everything else.” By Bernadette Devlin means that sometime is our life we would lose everything we think is of value in order to gain what’s really important in our life.…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics