Categorical Imperative V. Hypothetical Imperative Essay

this theory presents conflicting duty. For example, you’re mother is deathly sick and you were going to enlist into the Navy, which duty do you follow? Also, this theory lacks clarity as to how broad one’s application of the Categorical Imperative can be. This theory works extremely well for broad issues, however the more specific the issues get, the harder it is to provide a subjective objective answer. This theory also makes it relentlessly difficult to create the appropriate maxim. For example, thieves enter the bank you work at, they demand access to the safe, and you say you do not have access but in actuality you do. Which maxim do you universalize? Lastly, Kantian Ethics are very unforgiving; there is neither mercy nor grace but a strict system of “retributive justice”.…

reality, nature, existence, etc. However, there are a number of philosophers who propose differing sets of morals and have different ideas of living life to its fullest (Singer v. Mill). Kant proposes that moral actions are defined by the motivation of an action, and later on explains that moral actions are duties through reason, rather than inclination. This essay will explain the validity of Kant’s argument by first explaining Kant’s view on duty, then analyse his view of duty as an object of…

Parker as a means to maximise their own happiness is to deny him his own faculty for free will and action, consequently negating his ability to be rational and autonomous. Kant argued that the moral must be stated in terms of what he called the categorical imperative, “Act only in accordance with that a maxim through which you can at the same time will that it became a universal law”. We must always ask ourselves whether the maxim, or principle, of our action could be used to establish a…

of action freely. They must be the right principles or ones that are consistent with the moral law. Kant connects moral law with reason as well and argues that reason dictates that individuals act only in accordance with that maxim which you can at the same time Will that it can become a universal law, which is his first formulation of what is called the Categorical Imperative and all principles of action can be tested against the categorical imperative to see if they pass or are consistent…

Kant would resolve the conflict seen in Law and Order by adhering to the duty principle by testing a maxim of the conflict against his three formulations. These formulations are used to see if a rule is a categorical imperative – that is, a rule that is in tune with the moral law and is acted out of a pure will. Basically, these categorical imperatives are rules that are absolutely universal and unconditional. On the other hand, the impure will comes out of a hypothetical imperative. This is a…

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher most famous for his deontological ethics, also known as Kantian ethics. Kant believed that whether an action was right or wrong did not depend on the consequences, but on whether they fulfilled our duty as rational beings. Kant’s ethics are guided from the philosophical concept that is the Categorical Imperative, a wholly binding rule of morality that is justified as an end in itself. In the spelunker case, Kant would ultimately have the choice of killing…

Assess Kant’s view that ethics should be based on duty not consequences. Philosopher Immanuel Kant proposed his theory of ethics in his 1785 book ‘Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals’. He essentially argued that moral decisions shouldn’t be based on their consequences but rather our moral duty. The deontological approach to ethics is reasonable and straightforward; it provides a stability and certainty that cannot be achieved by looking at consequences. This being said, I feel as though the…

Philippa Foot in her text “Morality as a System of Hypothetical Imperatives” argues against the claim that moral judgments cannot be hypothetical imperatives, first presented by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. As found in her introduction on page 68-69 of the textbook, her argument is that moral judgments are categorical rather than hypothetical. But before one can explain her argument one must define and explain what hypothetical and categorical imperatives are. Kant himself wrote all…

the Indian and Jim. Though if Jim had a maxim to influence his choice, Kant would agree that he should use that maxim to assert his choice of "ordinary rational knowledge of morality." Jim is facing a very difficult choice and he still is unsure of what would be considered a “duty” in this situation? Is it his duty to save the people he can save? Or is it his duty to walk away and let everyone get killed? Kant’s rational principles, categorical or hypothetical imperatives are the last hopes to…

a deontological ethic, where the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences but on whether they fulfill our duty (Anscombe). Kant defines moral rules as commands that tell us what to do, and consist of two important features. One being that they command us categorically rather than hypothetically since moral rules are not desired based, and secondly because, they command us absolutely and do not admit us from exception. Kant also believed in two imperatives,…