Transcript Kantian Ethics

After today’s lesson I will be able to:



Explain Kant’s theory on moral ethics
Explain the term ‘categorical imperative’
Understand the phrase 'Duty and Reason'
Your mum asks you to do the dishes.
What do you normally do?
Why??
Let's say you agree to do them!
You might agree to do them because: 



You want to avoid the consequences of not doing dishes
(i.e. getting moaned at, grounded etc), so you do them
You expect that she will somehow return the favour to you
when you need one, so you do them.
You want your mum to tell the rest of your family how good
you are
As her child you know it is your duty to respect and obey
your mum, so you do the dishes.
CONSIDER: What is the motivation behind
each reason?
Today we will learn about Immanuel Kant.
Kant believed that your motive is the most
important aspect of making a moral decision
After today’s lesson I will be able to:


Explain Kant’s theory on moral ethics
Explain the term ‘categorical imperative’
What do you think it means to be
enlightened??
The



th
18 C
Enlightenment
This is the term used
to describe a
philosophical
movement from the
18th Century
The Enlightenment
was a rejection of all
the existing ideas and
beliefs.
It was characterised
by a strong emphasis
on human reason
Immanuel Kant



Kant was a German
philosopher
He is known as one of
the most influential
philosophers during
the Enlightenment
He found it hard to
smile!

This is him trying his
best to smile!!

So what guiding principles did Kant use when
making moral decisions?



For Kant, morality should be based on reason
and duty – not on feelings, or consequences
He believed in God but held that morality should
be autonomous
His ideas are appealing to both religious and
non-religious people

Kant believed that you could use your reason to
figure out what was the right thing to do based
on what you ought to do in a situation. He
called this the 'goodwill'.
• A moral decision should not be based on a
feeling.
• It should not be based on a reward.
• It should be based on a sense of duty.
Doing the Dishes
You could agree to do them because: 



You want to avoid the consequences of not doing dishes
(i.e. getting moaned at, grounded etc), so you do them
You expect that she will somehow return the favour to you
when you need one, so you do them.
You want your mum to tell the rest of your family how good
you are
As her child you know it is your duty to respect and
obey your mum, so you do the dishes.
For Kant this is what you ought to do! It is
your moral duty
Acting on goodwill leads us to do our moral
duty - purely because it is our moral duty.
For Kant morality is all about having the right
motive!

Billy the shopkeeper always gives the right
change to his customers because he is worried
that they won't return if he short changes them.
What do you think about his motive?




According to Kant, Billy is morally wrong
(because he is not acting out of 'goodwill').
Billy's decision is based on the negative
consequence that it would have for his
business.
Therefore his motive is actually quite selfish.
His motive should be simply that giving the
right change is the right thing to do.
You help an old person carry their shopping across
the street. You may have done this because…
•
•
•
•
You felt pity and compassion for the old person
You want to show others how nice you are
You would feel bad ignoring the lady
Your parents would give you into trouble if they heard
you didn't help
What would Kant say about these reasons???
None of these
reasons would put a
smile on Kant's face
According to Kant you should help the old
person across the road because you have a
sense of duty to help the elderly in society.
Motive
Motive is very important in Kantian ethics.
Your motive should be based on a sense of
moral duty and not on anything else.
So what is your moral duty??


Kant didn't give us much idea specifically about
what is right or wrong.
He did say that what is right is what we can
make a universal law from. We can use our
sense of reason to do this.
So what is your moral duty??
“Act as if the maxim from
which you were to act were
to become through your
will a general law”
Critique of Pure reason, Kant, 1788
(Maxim = rule or principle)
“Act as if the maxim from which you were to
act were to become through your will a
general law”
Critique of Pure reason, Kant, 1788



This is just a way of saying “what would it be
like if everyone did that?”
What this means is that the moral decision you
make in any situation is something you think it
would be be okay for everyone to do too.
Get it?



If you didn't think it would be okay for
everyone everywhere then it would be wrong.
This means that every moral decision has to be
universally applicable.
Consider the following...

You work in a corner shop. You are tempted to
take a chocolate bar without paying for it.
Nobody would notice...


You work in a corner shop. You are tempted to
take a chocolate bar without paying for it.
Nobody would notice...
What would the world be like if everyone
everywhere did this???

You have a good job. You are in charge of a big
budget and you discover a way to move some
money into your bank account under the guise
of 'company expenses'. You know that you will
not get caught...


You have a good job. You are in charge of a big
budget and you discover a way to move some
money into your bank account under the guise
of 'company expenses'. You know that you will
not get caught...
What would the world be like if everyone
everywhere did this???

Kant said that you have a moral duty to do the
right thing all of the time. We can all use our
reason to figure out the right action.
Kant called this the Categorical Imperative
Categorical: Something which applies in all
situations. Without exception.
Imperative: Something which you must do.


The categorical imperative says that we
should act in ways that we wish that every
person would act.
Sound familiar to anyone?

Kant thought that we should always treat
others as people - and not as stepping
stones that can help us in some selfish way.
A Fancy Latin Phrase

The Categorical Imperative is a priori,
meaning that we can see that something is true
without having to experience it first.
Duty and Reason?


DUTY: The
Categorical
Imperative is your
moral duty.
REASON: We are
able to use our
reason to determine
what is morally right.
Copy the following..
Enlightenment: An 18thCentury philosophical
movement based on human reason.
Categorical Imperative: Acting in such a way that
where you consider what might happen if the
principle of your action became a moral law for
everyone.
Universal Law: A law that applies to all people.
Maxim: A principle or a rule.
A priori: The Categorical Imperative is a priori,
meaning that we can see that something is true
without having to experience it first.
Group Task:

Can you think of examples of universal rules
that should apply to all people at all times?
Make a list
Group Task

As a group, identify possible problems that you
may come across with Kant's categorical
imperative. Connect these problems with the
rules you have just made.
Purple RMPS Book

Read p77

Answer the Qs
In your jotters...


Explain Kant’s theory on moral ethics
Explain the term ‘categorical imperative’
A priori: This is a Latin phrase referring to facts
that are independent of experience

So, if I attend a game of football, anything I
know about the rules of football is a priori
knowledge of how the game will be conducted.
Kantian Ethics
Rights and Responsibilities




Collect a worksheet and read through it as a
group.
Record answers in your jotter.
Try to avoid saying “I need to make sure others
have the same right” as an answer.
Consider carefully what your personal
responsibility is to do with this right.
The key
principles of
Kantian ethics