Analysis Of Kant's View On Duty

There have always been occasions where a person has acted courageously for a deed they have done. Due to this deed, it is believed that the person should be regarded with moral praises for their bravery. However, if it is found out that the deed is done because they expect recognition, a reward, or they were forced to do so, it seems now that they have acted from improper motives. Society gives moral praises when they see the deed is done out of morally correct motives or good will. Kant believes in good will, which according to him is the only thing that is good in and of itself. Regardless of the ends, separated from subjective wants and desires, the good will is its own end. Kant 's moral theory is deontological, which determines the moral …show more content…
In the strong view, it holds that Kant believes the motives for a morally right act have to be solely motivated by duty with no inclinations what so ever. Its moral value lies in the fact that when an action is done from duty it is determined by the formal principle of volition. The purposes one may have for doing the action and their effects as ends and incentives of the will cannot give the action any moral worth. On the weaker view, it holds that morally worthy actions are motivated in part by duty but among other motivations as well. Kant claims that duty is the necessity of an action executed from respect for law. He explains that it is possible to have an inclination to an object as an effect of the proposed action, but that there cannot be respect for it because it was simply a mere effect and not an activity of a will. Even though Kant states that there can be no respect for any inclination, he does not rule out the fact that he can still at most approve of it and eventually maybe even love it or see it as a favorable …show more content…
I do not see humans capable of alienating all the natural inclinations they experience in order to perform an act out of pure duty. It is a part of human nature to assign affection, love, anger, etc., to the people and things they encounter during their life. Kant regards emotions as irrelevant and the fact that the only appropriate motive for moral action is a sense of duty creates a conflict with our instincts of emotion that accompany our daily actions. We also may doubt whether it is even possible for us to set aside our self-interest and the concerns and desires that make us individuals, and to think of ourselves, as Kant wants us to, as purely rational autonomous beings that subdue our desires and inclinations in order to act only out of duty. I believe that by removing these natural emotions we experience from performing a moral act it takes away from the value. I view the moral worth of an action as more valuable when a person acts out of not only duty, but from their desires to perform the action because it shows they truly want to do