Preview

Kant's Second Imperative

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
347 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Kant's Second Imperative
Kant’s first imperative deals with universality and the Law of Nature. Kant states that for a moral thought to be true it must not be tied to any external conditions, physical or moral and should be applied to anyone (universalizability principle). Continuing, he states that since the laws of nature are defined to be universal, we can also express the categorical imperative as if our will of our rational actions would be a universal law of nature. Kant’s second imperative deals with free will and humanity, it is derived from his first categorical imperative. Kant states that if every rational action must be a universal principle it is also is a means to an end. Therefore, free will is a/the source to all actions and if it were to be denied
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Immanuel Kant's Ethical Summary
    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Immanuel Kant's Ethical Summary

    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.…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Good And Evil Casablanca
    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Good And Evil Casablanca

    He believed that our actions must come from a sense of Duty, not because we care for or love one another but because it is our Duty to “respect the Moral Law” (p. 246). Judging the importance of a decision based on whether or not it was following a rule or set of rules is called deontological ethics. He believed that it was not the consequences of the action which were important but the person’s motive carrying out the said action. Many disagree with Kant saying that we must have a foundation to start from, a reason such as love or concern to do what is morally…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Kant's Categorical Imperative
    • 273 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Kant's Categorical Imperative

    Kant writes about two formulations of his categorical imperative, the first being Universal law. The formulation of Universal Law is the basis of Categorical Imperative. It states that “Act only on that maxim [principal rule of conduct] whereby you can at the same time will that it would become a universal law” (Pojman and Vaughn 239). Universal law suggests that the maxim is an objective and universal…

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

    8
    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages

    8

    1. Kant gave this principle (the Categorical Imperative, RS) different formulations, but at one point he expresses it like this:…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chapter 2 Outline
    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Chapter 2 Outline

    Categorical Imperative- (Kant) says that you have a moral duty to act in the way you believe everyone should act.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Kant's 'Thucydides'
    • 2197 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Comparing Kant's 'Thucydides'

    The categorical imperative is a way of testing possible actions. The maxim of universality is as follows : Act so that the totality of maxims from which you act are such that you can regard yourself as enacting through these maxims a unified scheme of public moral perceptions , the enforcing of which by all reasonable and rational persons . According to Kant, the correct way to think about ones actions are to contemplate whether or not one would like that action to happen to you. In other words, one should use the idea of the golden rule. He thinks that humanity should use this type of guideline, so that humans do not give into their natural ways, and see it in less personal terms.…

    • 2197 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Categorical Imperatives Immanuel Kant
    • 96 Words
    • 1 Page

    Categorical Imperatives Immanuel Kant

    Consequentialism is a stance in ethics, which determines the value of an action based on the results, or the consequence of that action. Consequentialism is not concerned with the means of action unlike deontological ethics. Consequentialist theory is ethics are concerned with who consequences are being concerned about; determining how to weigh all the consequences involved.…

    • 96 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Deontology Vs Utilitarianism
    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Deontology Vs Utilitarianism

    (74) Kant regarded persons as being capable of autonomy or self-rule. Being autonomous gives us the power to choose, regardless of our circumstances or influences, we still can make our own choices. Kant stated that we “should treat humanity… never simply as a means but always at the same time as an end.” (74) Namely, Kant expressed that we should treat people with value and rational thought should help us conclude what is right and what is…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Categorical Imperative Kant
    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page

    Categorical Imperative Kant

    Kant's second formulation of the categorical imperative abbreviated means, treat people like this: always as an end, never merely (only)…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Categorical Imperatives
    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Categorical Imperatives

    Furthermore, Kant intensified that since we humans are rational agents, we are free to make decisions freely, set goals, and guide conduct by reason. Therefore, if we are rational agents that make immoral decisions then we must be ready for the consequences that follow. There are no…

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

    Kant on Will
    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Kant on Will

    Kant’s argument that an act out of duty can not be in conflict with itself or with any other will acting out of duty derives from the concept he puts forth of the internal principle. A will cannot conflict itself if it determines itself a priori. By determining its morals before the benefit of experience, it determines itself simply that it exists as it is. Intuitively, anything pure cannot conflict with itself just as the idea of good cannot conflict with itself and be somehow partly bad (437). Thus by simply being, without any other influence determining it, the will is an end in itself (437). A will acting out of duty, or in other words on its own internal principles, can not conflict with another will simply because it does not depend on the other will. In order to conflict, something must first interact. And if two wills are acting in accordance with duty, then they each recognize each other as an end in itself, and therefore do not interact on the level of morality (438). Just as a self-sufficient village with no roads leading to or from can not conflict with another village simply because it needs not and cannot interact, a self-sufficient will, and therefore determined with no external influence, can also not conflict with anther will acting out of duty. Though if something is not self-sufficient, it requires another object to fulfill its ends. As with the village, if it needs to conquer a neighboring village’s farmland in order to feed itself, conflict arises. Similarly, should a will not be determined a priori, but instead based on external circumstances, then a will must use another will to fulfill its needs, and therefore would conflict with the autonomy of the second…

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

    Kants Moral Argument
    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Kants Moral Argument

    Kant's moral argument can be summarised in 4 points. Point 1, a good will or a person with right moral intentions seeks to bring about the summum bonum. If we take our ethics seriously we can see that we want to achieve the summum bonum. Kant, however was adamant that people should not act nice to receive an award at the end of the act. Kant was convinced that an act is only morally good if it is done for its on sake and without any selfish thoughts. He believed that people should do the right thing because it is the right thing and not for any reward or praise.…

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

    Ethics of Dignity and Freedom
    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ethics of Dignity and Freedom

    It attempts to describe a decision making process based on the deceptively simple question, "What ought we do?" He uses rules referred to as maxims as the basis for making decisions. According to Kant when we are contemplating whether an action is moral or immoral we should ask ourselves what rule or maxim we would be following when making the choice. Kant also stresses the autonomy of each human being as a rational agent based on their ability to reason and their right to be respected by others as rational agents. These two concepts can be presented in two formulations describing constraints that according to Kant should be applied to the maxims we adopt.…

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

    Essay On Kant's Categorical Imperative
    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Kant's Categorical Imperative

    The binding trait between Kant's first and second Categorical Imperatives is the element of reason. Both reinforce Kant's opinion that people have a duty to respect rational thinking. In the first formulation, Kant instructs people to use reason for the purpose of determining if an action is moral by the standard of it being good for everyone, or if it should be applied as a universal moral law. Kant believes it is critical to determine moral laws without the consideration of the goals or outcomes…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    District 9 Essay
    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages

    District 9 Essay

    Here are three formulated maxims that make up the categorical imperative: “The first version of the categorical imperative is act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law” (p.33, Shulzke 2012)… In the second formulation, Kant says moral actors must, So act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means” (p. 34, 2012)… The third formulation is actions should enable others to exercise free will and make moral choices.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics