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Morals

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Morals
MORALS
Morals http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-hume-morality/
Growing up I always was told to tell the truth, treat everyone how you would want to be treated and not to lie, cheat, or steal because these are morals I should live by. The definition of morals is a principle or habit with respect to right or wrong conduct. What is right and wrong, and who decides these rights and wrongs? I will go back and explore Kant and Locke to hopefully answer my questions.

• The values people use are often attributed to a system of beliefs called morals. This term is often referred to in many religious organizations. People are termed as "immoral," meaning they have no morals. Morals therefore have a very broad acceptance, and people are judged more against their morals than they are their values. Morals are beliefs and values that conform to normal standards of what is right and wrong and deal[pic] with people's habits of conduct.

The ethics of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) is often contrasted with that of David Hume (1711–1776). Hume's method of moral philosophy is experimental and empirical; Kant emphasizes the necessity of grounding morality in a priori principles. Hume says that reason is properly a “slave to the passions,” while Kant bases morality in his conception of a reason that is practical in itself. Hume identifies such feelings as benevolence and generosity as proper moral motivations; Kant sees the motive of duty—a motive that Hume usually views as a second best or fall back motive—as uniquely expressing an agent's commitment to morality and thus as conveying a special moral worth to actions.

First, Kant places special importance on the a priori or“pure” part of moral philosophy. In Kant's normative ethics in the Metaphysics of Morals and lectures on ethics, Kant draws heavily on observations and ideas about human nature. But both in his normative works and in his foundational work, theGroundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant makes

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