For centuries, philosophers have debated the principles and axioms of ethics. They have striven to lay forth values and rules considered self-evident, and determine what is truly moral and truly right. The debate has led to many different schools of thought, a number of them directly contrasting with each other. A beautiful example of these opposing philosophies can be seen when comparing the works of Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. In their respective pieces, Groundwork on the Metaphysics of Morals and Utilitarianism they both attempted to answer the same age-old quandary, but they arrived at very different conclusions. Mill's and Kant's theories disagree on a very fundamental level. Mill's theory, utilitarianism, regards the final result
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Fundamentally, Kant believes that the best thing of all is a good will. While he acknowledges that there are many things in this world that can be good such as virtue, wealth, or strength, Kant puts forth that without a good will to guide the individual, these other goods can be corrupted. A good will keeps an individual pointed in the right moral direction and keeps them from being blinded by other gifts and talents. To Kant, a good will is not good because of the ends it achieves, but because it wants to do good. The good will is valuable for its own sake and having a good will is its own final …show more content…
Duty is the only motive of a good will in Kant's system. The second proposition of morality reads "An action that is done from duty doesn’t get its moral value from the purpose that's to be achieved from it but from the maxims it involves"14. Meaning that the what is most important about moral actions is not the end result, but the good will belonging to the individual that is fully valuable in itself. Kant's third proposition is that to have a duty is to be required to act a certain way out of respect for the law15. It is the individual's responsibility if they wish to be good willed to adhere to and respect any moral law that might appear self-evident through the individual's own
Fundamentally, Kant believes that the best thing of all is a good will. While he acknowledges that there are many things in this world that can be good such as virtue, wealth, or strength, Kant puts forth that without a good will to guide the individual, these other goods can be corrupted. A good will keeps an individual pointed in the right moral direction and keeps them from being blinded by other gifts and talents. To Kant, a good will is not good because of the ends it achieves, but because it wants to do good. The good will is valuable for its own sake and having a good will is its own final …show more content…
Duty is the only motive of a good will in Kant's system. The second proposition of morality reads "An action that is done from duty doesn’t get its moral value from the purpose that's to be achieved from it but from the maxims it involves"14. Meaning that the what is most important about moral actions is not the end result, but the good will belonging to the individual that is fully valuable in itself. Kant's third proposition is that to have a duty is to be required to act a certain way out of respect for the law15. It is the individual's responsibility if they wish to be good willed to adhere to and respect any moral law that might appear self-evident through the individual's own