In contrast, Utilitarian ethics aims to improve the world and often the means are justified by the end. A Kantian would rather save an innocent person even if the consequence of doing that would mean the destruction of the world. A Utilitarian would rather save the world even if that meant one person had to die. According to Kant, actions are good only if they are accordant to our duties. Kantian ethics is essentially autonomous, that is, the moral law is given by the person himself, because of his good will. The morality of an action is given from within the person and not imposed from outside matters. In Kantian ethics, it is the will that drives the action and not the action itself; the will is what makes it morally right or wrong. In order to understand Kantian ethics, it is important to understand the concept of goodwill. The concept of goodwill from a Kantian perspective might not be the same as what we understand by goodwill in terms of solidarity itself. But that goodwill is precisely a will that follows the mandate of our duty. The results of an action are irrelevant to Kant. For Kant, what matters is not the action itself or the objective to be achieved, but how we decide what is better to
In contrast, Utilitarian ethics aims to improve the world and often the means are justified by the end. A Kantian would rather save an innocent person even if the consequence of doing that would mean the destruction of the world. A Utilitarian would rather save the world even if that meant one person had to die. According to Kant, actions are good only if they are accordant to our duties. Kantian ethics is essentially autonomous, that is, the moral law is given by the person himself, because of his good will. The morality of an action is given from within the person and not imposed from outside matters. In Kantian ethics, it is the will that drives the action and not the action itself; the will is what makes it morally right or wrong. In order to understand Kantian ethics, it is important to understand the concept of goodwill. The concept of goodwill from a Kantian perspective might not be the same as what we understand by goodwill in terms of solidarity itself. But that goodwill is precisely a will that follows the mandate of our duty. The results of an action are irrelevant to Kant. For Kant, what matters is not the action itself or the objective to be achieved, but how we decide what is better to