Imagine a situation where there is a boat full of “good” citizens, and a boat full of “bad” citizens and each boat has a bomb with a detonator in the hands of the other boat. Defining “good” or “bad” is challenging enough, and while analyzing both Kant and Mill one will see that the complexity of the issue cannot be adequately solved by either argument for what one “ought” to do. In the first case, which will be that they are both on the same ship, full of “good” citizens each offers their arguments. Kant argues, “We should not simply destroy individuals simply because our own lives are in danger, for we must do what is good in itself.” Mill, being a utilitarian disagrees with this argument and offers his own argument for what the passengers ought to do. He begins, “We ought to pursue the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, and since we do seek happiness as an end in itself. Being upstanding citizens, we are more valuable to society and can produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number if we push the detonator and go home.” Although there are respectable points in each argument, one can determine that neither argument is sufficient for solving the puzzle because there is no winning.…
There is an old saying that it is better to be lucky than good. This may be true if a person is always lucky, but luck sometimes has a tendency to run out. Making decisions that affect other people’s lives based on luck can be sometimes dangerous, and usually ethically questionable. Leaders who routinely depend on luck for success may find themselves relying on other questionable actions, such as lying, cheating, or stealing, to ensure luck stays on their side. Additionally, this type of behavior may force subordinates to make ethically questionable decisions when luck begins to run out.…
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from the 18th century who is well known as an essential person in philosophy today. He has made the argument that there are a set of essential ideas that structure human experience and is the source of morality. His thought continues to have a major influence in contemporary thought, especially the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics. Kant’s theory on morality as often been criticized on being too…
Kant’s moral theory begins from the starting point of the good will. In assessing the moral worth on an action we must focus not on the consequences of results of the action, but on the agent’s will ( the motivation of conducting an action is really important).…
In this essay I’m going to address questions concerning Kant’s grounding for the metaphysics of morals. First, I will describe each of his examples of acts done out of desire and acts done out of duty. Then I will answer the following questions: 1. What conclusion about moral worth does Kant use these examples to illustrate? 2. Whether I agree or disagree with Kant that if you perform an action out of duty, then the act has more moral worth that it would if you were to perform it out of the desire to make someone else happy—using my own example of a moral act done out of the desire to make someone else happy.…
In this essay I will present an argument to show that Kantian Deontology is not a plausible moral theory because the two fundamental principles from Kant’s Categorical Imperatives are unable to account for the permissibility of certain acts that would otherwise be considered immoral. This would discredit the usefulness of Kant’s theory as a moral guideline because individuals would then be able to commit acts - those of which would be considered immoral according to considered moral judgements - and yet not be proven morally wrong because of the lack of accountability that the principles have. In addition, Kant’s theory would no longer have the value of helping us lead a morally good life - even as a form of moral guideline - than the initial…
In the process of decision making there are various processes that are followed by the decision makers and the stakeholders involved. In organizations, the management and the major stakeholders have the responsibility of decision making. Decisions made at an organizational level may have wide effects in the future. Therefore, it is always important for decision makers to ensure they take into consideration all the factors that may affect the decision making process (Ess, 2002). Having consultations from other professions in similar fields is one of the most fundamental principles that professionals use when caught between important decisions that have to be chosen.…
Kant philosophy has contributed in development of "pure" moral philosophy, a "metaphysics of morals" that is based on the concepts of reason, not on empirical observations. According to his philosophy moral obligations are applicable to all human beings as it applies not only for particular person in particular situation, but also to all rational beings in all circumstances.…
The categorical imperative describes Kant’s account for morality’s absolute and unconditional commandment, which dictates rational beings’ moral obligations and duties. From the notion and understanding of a ‘good will’, to that of ‘duty,’ springs out Kant’s three propositions that give rise to the categorical imperative’s first formulation. Through these propositions, the first formulation arrives at the fundamental principle of morality and thus the principle upon a good will must act. It can be read as follows: ‘Act only according to that maxim whereby you can the same time, will that it should become a universal law.’ In order to understand how it is that Kant arrived at this first formulation, first, I will present a close examination and definition of concepts such as ‘good will’ and ‘duty,’ and then analyze how these are incorporated in Kant’s three propositions that arrive at the categorical imperative itself through the explanation of his three propositions. Together with this will be certain limitations I have observed upon close examination of the text in this first section of Kant’s Groundwork.…
Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is not an easy read. Kant’s writing is very dense and he uses a unique vocabulary. I am going to try to explain Kant’s three Propositions, and then show how the third Proposition follows from the first two. It’s hard at a glance to see how they are connected, but I am going to try to clarify the text so we can see it more clearly. We will also look at examples that can help give us a better understanding of the text.…
Immanuel Kant's moral theory can be best explained by comparing it to a math equation. Kant's moral system will always hold true no matter what the circumstance just like how two plus two will always equal four. According to Kant, our lives should be lived according to maxims that can be willed into universal law (Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, p 303). However the action regarding a moral decision is not judged by the consequences of that action, rather by the motive of that action.…
Lord Krishna lays down two important requirements for a person to understand the most secret knowledge about the God, namely the uncarping spirit, and the faith.…
Deontology is the ethical view that some actions are morally forbidden or permitted regardless of consequences. One of the most influential deontological philosophers in history is Immanuel Kant who developed the idea of the Categorical Imperative. Kant believed that the only thing of intrinsic moral worth is a good will. Kant says in his work Morality and Rationality "The good will is not good because of what it effects or accomplishes or because of it's adequacy to achieve some proposed end; it is good only because of it's willing, i.e., it is good of itself". A maxim is the generalized rule that characterizes the motives for a person's actions. For Kant, a will that is good is one that is acting by the maxim of doing the right thing because it is right thing to do. The moral worth of an action is determined by whether or not it was acted upon out of respect for the moral law, or the Categorical Imperative. Imperatives in general imply something we ought to do however there is a distinction between categorical imperatives and hypothetical imperatives. Hypothetical imperatives are obligatory so long as we desire X. If we desire X we ought to do Y. However, categorical imperatives are not subject to conditions. The Categorical Imperative is universally binding to all rational creatures because they are rational. Kant proposes three formulations the Categorical Imperative in his Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Moral, the Universal Law formulation, Humanity or End in Itself formulation, and Kingdom of Ends formulation. In this essay, the viablity of the Universal Law formulation is tested by discussing two objections to it, mainly the idea that the moral laws are too absolute and the existence of false positives and false negatives.…
Fraud is generally defined as an omission of a material fact or a misrepresentation of the truth, intended for personal gain or to cause loss to another party. The act of fraud is most commonly committed in order to deprive another of money, property, or a legal right. Fraud is considered criminal activity, and anyone who is affected by a fraudulent act has the ability to file a lawsuit to collect damages. J.C. Penny was accused of marking up the prices on their products and then discounting them to the original price in order to trick customers into thinking they were receiving heavy discounts and better deals. J.C. Penny committed this act for their own personal gain, and in doing so, they deprived their customers of money that they would…
In ethics many theories have similar and different ideas among them. Two theories that share this are utilitarianism and Kant’s moral theory. Both theories have similar ideas but they also are perceived differently.…