Transcript Smith’s Invisible Hand

Kantian Ethics
Introduction to Philosophy
Jason M. Chang
Lecture Outline
1.
Background
2.
Kant on moral worth
3.
Acting from duty
4.
The categorical imperative
Background
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
•
Biography
•
Groundwork of the Metaphysics of
Morals (1785)
Kant on moral worth
Kant on moral worth
Imagine that you are waiting to cross a
busy street. Next to you is an old lady
struggling to carry her grocery bags.
You decide to help the lady cross the
street. In fact, you help carry her bags
to her house only several blocks away.
Does this act have moral worth?
Kant on moral worth
Utilitarian
Of course –
assuming that it
generates the
greatest happiness
Kantian
It depends!
Does the act have
moral worth?
Kant on moral worth
Kant on moral worth
•
Act with moral worth = act
performed from the right
motive
•
What this implies
Kant on moral worth
Kant on moral worth
The motive is the only thing
that matters when determining
whether an act has moral worth
What does it mean to act from
the right motive?
Acting from duty
Acting from duty
Human beings can act from inclination
I help the old lady…
•
•
•
Desires (for happiness, recognition,
success, power, companionship)
•
•
Emotions (love, compassion, anger)
•
Capacity to act from desires and emotions
From my desire for money
From my desire for my
happiness
For my desire for
companionship
Out of compassion
Are human beings capable of acting from something
other than desire or emotion?
Acting from duty
Human beings can act from reason
I help the old lady…
•
Rationality
Can act “out of principle”
Can act out of respect for what
morality requires
•
Out of respect for what morality
requires
•
Because it is the right thing to do
Acting from duty
If I help the old lady…
•
•
•
From my desire for money
From my desire for my happiness
For my desire for companionship
•
Out of compassion or emotion
Acting according to
duty
(No moral worth)
If I help the old lady…
•
•
Because it is the right thing to do
Out of respect for what morality
requires
Acting from duty
(Moral worth)
Acting from duty
Acting according
to duty
Acting from
duty
To do what morality requires NOT
because it is the right thing to do, but to
fulfill a desire or achieve an outcome
To do what morality requires because it is
the right thing to do (i.e., acting out of
respect for what morality requires)
•
An act has moral worth only if it is performed from the right
motive
•
Human beings can do the right thing either from inclination
(desires, emotions) or from reason
•
Doing the right thing from inclination = acting according to duty
Doing the right thing from reason = acting from duty
•
Acting from duty = acting out of respect for the moral law
The moral law
(The categorical imperative)
The categorical imperative
About the categorical imperative
•
Supreme principle of morality
•
The law we respect when acting
from duty
•
Can be phrased in three different
ways
The categorical imperative
Second formulation
“Act as you treat humanity,
whether your own person or
in the person of any other,
as an end and never as a
means only.”
(Humanity formula)
Major ideas:
1.
Treating others as an
end
2.
Treating others never
as a means only
The categorical imperative
“Treating others as an end”
•
Background
o
•
Humans as having intrinsic value
What it means to “treat others as an end”
o
To treat or view a person in a manner that recognizes
their intrinsic value (i.e., having value independent of
their usefulness, race, gender, accomplishments, etc.)
The categorical imperative
“Treating others as a means only”
•
What it means to “treat others as a means only”
o
To view or treat a person as having value only because
of their usefulness
The categorical imperative
Second formulation
“Act as you treat humanity,
whether your own person or
in the person of any other,
as an end and never as a
means only.”
(Humanity formula)
Translation
Always treat yourself and
others in a manner that is
consistent with their intrinsic
value as persons
The categorical imperative
Second formulation
“Act as you treat humanity,
whether your own person or
in the person of any other,
as an end and never as a
means only.”
(Humanity formula)
Examples acts forbidden by
the second formulation
•
•
•
•
Murder
Casual sex
Suicide
Masturbation
The categorical imperative
First formulation
“Act always in a way that
we can will the principle of
our action to become a
universal law.”
(Universal law formula)
Major ideas:
Universal law
A universal law is a
moral principle that
everyone will accept
The categorical imperative
Particular individuals
Disagree about moral
principles
Individuals who recognize their
intrinsic worth
Agree on ways they want
to be treated and ways not
to be treated
The categorical imperative
Individuals who recognize their
intrinsic worth
Demand that they be
treated in a manner that is
consistent with their
intrinsic worth
Demand that they are not
killed, lied to, raped, stolen
from, disrespected, or used
as a means only
The categorical imperative
First formulation
“Act always in a way that
we can will the principle of
our action to become a
universal law.”
(Universal law formula)
Translation
Always treat others in a
manner that all beings that
recognize their intrinsic worth
demand to be treated