Transcript Immanuel Kant – Duty Ethics

Immanuel Kant
Deontology
(Duty Ethics)
Immanuel Kant
 German philosopher
1724 - 1804
“Morality is not really the
doctrine of how to make
ourselves happy but of how we
are to be worthy of happiness”
 The essence of morality is to be found
in the motive from which an act is
done.
 We need to distinguish between acts
done ‘from inclination’ and acts done
from a ‘sense of duty’.
 Inclination = that which we would like to do
e.g. When you wake up on a beautiful sunny
day, you might think that you would like to
spend the day at the beach, instead of
going to school.
In other words, your inclination would be to go
to the beach.
Obligation
 Obligation = What you know you ought to
do, despite your inclination to do otherwise.
(this may also be called ‘duty’)
e.g. On that sunny day, you know that you
should go to school, because your friends
need you for the final rehearsal of your
group English oral.
So, it is your obligation or duty to go to school
to work on your English oral.
 According to Kant, one is only acting
morally when he/she suppresses
his/her inclinations and does that
which he/she is obliged to do.
 Kant distinguishes between acts done
‘from duty’ and acts done ‘in
accordance with duty’.
 e.g a parent who takes care of
his/her children either because he
loves them or because he fears police
action if he neglects them (prudence),
is not acting morally.
Scenario 1
 Your grandmother is sick and has asked for
you to visit her and bring her some
crossword books. Your grandmother is a
cranky old woman and you don’t enjoy
spending time with her. Furthermore, your
friend has invited you to see a movie
you’ve been wanting to see for some time.
Nevertheless, you decide to go and visit
your sick grandmother and take her the
crossword books she wants.
According to Kant, did you act morally?
Scenario 2
 Same situation, but in this case, your
grandmother is a sweet and lovely
woman whom you adore. You haven’t
seen her for a while and you know
you’ll enjoy visiting her, so you
decide to put off your friend and go to
visit your grandmother.
According to Kant, did you act morally?
The Categorical Imperative
 How does an individual determine
what his/her duty is in a given
situation? Central to Kant’s ethics –
the Categorical Imperative
( a rule which, if followed, will ensure
the person is behaving morally)
Principle of Universalisability
 Every action must be judged in the
light of how it would appear if it were
to be a universal code of behaviour.
[“What if everyone behaved as you
do?”]
 To decide if an act is the right thing
to do, one needs to ask oneself,
‘would I want to live in a world where
everyone acted this way?’
 If your answer is YES, then it is your
duty to act in this way.
 If your answer is NO, then the act is
not moral.
 “So act that your principle of action
might safely be made a law for the
whole world.” Kant
 The most important categorical
imperative for Kant, is that we should
treat other people as the ‘end’ of our
actions, not as a ‘means’ to an end.
 Every person has the right to pursue
their own goals and should not be
used as a means to another person’s
goals, no matter how noble these
ends may be.
What possible problems can you see
with Kant’s moral theory?