Unit 2 CH 13 The Categorical Imperative: Immanuel Kant

Formulation 2 - The Formula of Humanity

"Act so that you humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end, and never as a mere means." Mere means: to use it only for your own benefit, with no thought to the interest or benefit of the thing, you're using. Ends in ourselves: We're not mere objects that exist to be used by others. We're our own ends. We're rational and autonomous. We have the ability to set our goals, and work toward them. example: using professor to get information about the class, not mere means Unlike other things in the world, we're self-governed. We're able to set our own ends, to make our own free decisions based on our rationals wills. This imbues us with an Absolute Moral Worth, which means that we shouldn't be manipulated, or manipulate other autonomous agents for our own benefit. LYING: Does not allow the person to properly answer as they are given false information. Example: You ask me for money for school books but you really want to buy a game console. This is a mere means. You've treated me as a mere means to accomplish YOUR GOALS, with no thought to my own goals and interests. And that's a violation of Kant's Second Categorical Imperative.

categorical imperative examples

1. Suicide :one sees at once that a nature whose law was that the very same feeling meant to pro- mote life should actually destroy life would contradict itself, and hence would not endure as nature. the maxim therefore could not possibly be a general law of nature and thus it wholly contradicts the supreme principle of all duty. 2. Borrowing money and cannot repay: immediately that this maxim can never qualify as a self- consistent universal law of nature, but must necessarily contradict itself. For the universality of a law that permits anyone who believes himself to be in need to make any promise he pleases with the inten- tion of not keeping it would make promising, and the very purpose one has in promising, itself impossible. 3. A person's talent should be developed and not to rust: Only he cannot possibly will that this should become a universal law of nature or should be implanted in us as such a law by a natural instinct. For as a rational being he necessarily wills that all his powers should be developed, since they are after all useful to him and given to him for all sorts of possible purposes. 4. a fourth man, who is himself flourishing but sees others who have to struggle with great hardships (and whom he could easily help) thinks to himself: "What do I care? I don't feel like contributing anything to his well-being or to helping him in his distress!" although it is possible that a universal law of nature in accord with this maxim could exist, it is impossible to will that such a principle should hold everywhere as a law of nature. For a will that intended this would be in conflict with itself, since many situations might arise in which the man needs love and sympathy from others, and in which, by such a law of nature generated by his own will, he would rob himself of all hope of the help he wants.

Second formulation of the categorical imperative

Act in such a way 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. Example: Kant argues that a deceitful promise is immoral because a person making such a promise is using another person only as a means, not treating that individual as an end, a rational being worthy of respect.

Formulation 1- The Universalizability Principle:

Act only according to that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction. "Act only according to that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction." Maxim - a rule or principle of action Universal Law- something that must always be done in similar situations What the maxim of my action? EXAMPLE: Steal? no money, hungry, steal from store - if you steal then you say everyone should steal Contradiction: no one should always steal its not fair to make exceptions for yourself LYING: The one thing you are never permitted to do is violate the moral law, even if others are doing so, even for a really good cause

First formulation of the categorical imperative

Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.

Moral worth

An action's quality of being morally praiseworthy or blameworthy; determined solely by the principle that motivates the action and not by any of the consequences that potentially or actually follow from it.

commands you must follow, regardless of your desire. Moral obligations are derived from pure reason it doesn't matter whether you want to be moral or not- the moral law is binding on all of us. You don't need religion to determine what that law is, because what's right and wrong is totally knowable just by using your intellect.

Categorical Imperatives

Hypothetical imperative

Command of reason that recommends some action as necessary to achieve some desired objective. (one that says that you should do a certain thing if you are interested in a particular result)

Duty

Duty is the necessity of an act done out of respect for the law.

Formulations

How to tell what is moral

Kant main idea

Kant argues that the moral worth of an action is to be judged not by its consequences but by the nature of the maxim or principle that motivated the action. thus right actions are not necessarily those with favorable consequences but those performed in accordance with correct maxim.

Kant's Moral Principle

Kant refers to his supreme moral principle as the "categorical imperative"—categorical because it does not depend on anyone's particular desires, and an imperative because it is a command of reason.

End in itself

Something that has absolute worth, that possesses value in its own right rather than mere usefulness as a means of achieving some goal external to itself.

Categorical imperative (Kant)

Supreme command of reason that directs the will absolutely or unconditionally, irrespective of anyone's particular desires; given multiple formulations by Kant. (which says that you simply should do as it says, no matter what other interests you have)

A goodwill

a good will is not good because of its effects or accomplishments, and not because of its adequacy to achieve any proposed end: it is good only by virtue of its willing—that is, it is good in itself. considered in itself it is to be treasured as incomparably higher than anything it could ever bring about We must thus develop the concept of a will estimable in itself and good apart from any further aim. this concept is already present in the natural, healthy mind, which requires not so much instruction as merely clarification. It is this concept that always holds the highest place in estimating the total worth of our actions and it constitutes the condition of all the rest.

A morally valid principle is one that can serve as a universal law, applicable to all at any time or in any place. a. True b. False

a. True

Kant thinks we have a moral duty to cultivate our natural talents. a. True b. False

a. True

Only a rational being can have a will. a. True b. False

a. True

What kind of imperative commands an action to be done as a means to some other end? a. hypothetical b. categorical c. analytic d. synthetic

a. hypothetical.

But which maxims are correct?

according to Kant, the only correct ones are those that can serve as universal laws because they are applicable WITHOUT exception to every person at any time. In other words, you should act only on a maxim that can be universalized WITHOUT contradiction.

According to Kant, an action is not morally praiseworthy unless it is done in accordance with one's strongest inclinations. a. True b. False

b. False

It is impossible to treat oneself as a means to some other end. a. True b. False

b. False

Which of the following does Kant consider unconditionally good? a. happiness b. good will c. knowledge d. all of the above

b. good will.

According to Kant, we are obligated to do all of the following EXCEPT a. always keep our promises. b. cultivate our talents. c. put the interests of others before our own. d. refrain from killing ourselves.

c. put the interests of others before our own.

According to Kant, for an action to be moral, the principle motivating it must be a. altruistic. b. prudential. c. universalizable. d. scientific.

c. universalizable.

To do one's duty, Kant argues, is to act a. in accordance with one's inclination. b. to achieve a good end. c. to benefit others. d. out of respect for the moral law.

d. out of respect for the moral law.

For its maxim lacks the moral merit of such actions done not out of inclination but out of DUTY. (page 104)

humanitarian were overclouded by sorrows of his own which extinguished all compassion for the fate of others, but that he still had the power to assist others in distress; suppose though that their adversity no longer stirred him, because he is preoccupied with his own; and now imagine that, though no longer moved by any inclination, he nevertheless tears himself out of this deadly apathy and does the action without any inclination, solely out of duty. then for the first time his action has its genuine moral worth.

Most of the time, whether or not we ought to do something isnt really a moral choice - instead, its just contingent on our desire

hypothetical imperatives money - work good grades - study

Principle of Volition

principle of volition (i.e.,the principle or rule upon which one intentionaly acts).

an end in itself

the ground of this principle is: Rational nature exists as an end in itself. this is the way in which a human being necessarily conceives his own existence, and it is therefore a subjective principle of human actions. Examples: 1. Suicide - a human being is not a thing—not something to be used MERELY as a means: he must always in all his actions be regarded as an end in himself. 2. the man who has in mind making a false promise to others will see at once that he is intending to make use of another person MERELY AS A MEANS to an end which that person does not share. As rational beings, they must always at the same time be valued as ends—that is, treated only as beings who must themselves be able to share in the end of the very same action. 3. Develop and not neglect their talent - to neglect these can perhaps be compatible with the survival of humanity as an end in itself, but not with the promotion of that end. 4. the natural end that all human beings seek is their own perfect happiness. - Now the human race might indeed exist if everybody contributed nothing to the happiness of others but at the same time refrained from deliberately impairing it. this harmonizing with humanity as an end in itself would, however, be merely negative and not positive.

perfect happiness.

the hypothetical imperative which affirms the practical necessity of an action as a means to the promotion of perfect happiness is an assertoric imperative.

Kant's Imperative

the idea of an objective principle, in so far as it constrains a will, is called a commandment (of reason), and the formulation of this commandment is called an Imperative. . . .

imperative of morality

there is one imperative which commands a certain line of conduct directly, without assuming or being conditional on any further goal to be reached by that conduct. this imperative is categorical. It is concerned not with the material of the action and its anticipated result, but with its form and with the principle from which the action itself results. and what is essentially good in the action consists in the [agent's] disposition, whatever the result may be. t