Immanuel Kant A Groundwork Of The Metaphysics Of Morals?

Great Essays
art IIII: Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant published A Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) five years after Bentham’s Principles of Morals and Legislations, launching a scathing critique of utilitarianism. Kant proposed that a moral action does not suggest treating individuals as a means to an end. What Kant means by this is that we treat individuals for the sake of something else (means), such as Dudley and Stephens treating Parker as a means to maximise happiness. Instead, a moral action is one that treats individuals as ends in themselves, one that does not account for external influences such as happiness. Individuals are worthy of dignity and respect not because we own our bodies and minds but because we are rational beings, capable of reason and conscious thought. Kant claimed that we are likewise autonomous beings, equipped with the freedom to act and make moral decisions. He concluded that these abilities enforce us to oblige to moral laws and codes.

Kant highlighted that maximising overall happiness and pleasure does not justify the morality of an action; making a person happy does not make them virtuous. Although
…show more content…
Kant claimed, “act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end but always at the same time as an end.” Our actions are defined as an end in themselves; we do something for its own sake, rather than for the sake of maximising happiness, to name an example. For Dudley and Stephens to use 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

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    In accordance with Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, I will argue that ethical actions should be judged by good will alone. By comparing the theories of Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill, I will conclude that Kant’s theories are more realistic in regards to the nature of humans. Immanuel Kant argues that one’s good intentions should be the deciding factor in judging their actions no matter the outcome. What is beneficial about this is that it allows for the expression of the intrinsic values of a person. Since every person has different virtues and opinions, they can act in any way they choose.…

    • 1510 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    What we ought to do, or what we must do, is determined by morality which employs us to fulfill duties that otherwise would be wrong not to fulfill. But in Immanuel Kant’s Chapter Two of the “Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals”, he argues the existence of autonomy and how we can choose for ourselves what we ought to do that is vital for morality. Kant claims, “The word ‘respect’ is the only suitable expression for the esteem that a rational being must necessarily feel for such lawgiving. Autonomy is thus the basis of the dignity of human nature and of every rational nature” (336). Autonomy simply put is the ability to freely live your own life based on reasons and motives that are followed by your own choices, not the choices and influences of others (339).…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Immanuel Kant On Duty

    • 1621 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Philosophy is a discipline that studies how one ought to live, as well as study 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 good will, which pertains to motivations without the slightest selfishness, then argue for moral duties motivated by duty instead of inclination based on reason. It is difficult…

    • 1621 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With this, people are responsible for themselves and consequently about the society in which they live. Thereby, avoiding people to think about their own good as a selfish center of their actions, to seen the common good that derived from personal responsibility. I do agree with Kant that this is why we should treat persons ethically. Treating “humanity” as an end in itself implies that “humanity” is the limiting condition of our actions. This means we can do anything as long as we respect the “humanity” that every person represents.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Chan Dr. Whitman Phil 1301 1 May 2017 Kant Paper Immanuel Kant was a man of knowledge and self-awareness. He was well known for the development of ethical formulas in his book Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. One important formula that will be introduced is the Humanity formula. When using this formula, Kant explain why or why…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, he begins chapter one with an argument that there is nothing that can be called good without qualification except for a goodwill. First, Kante says that gifts given to us by nature can have both a good and a bad purpose. For example, he explains that people wish for qualities such as wit and intelligence. Both can be used for good means like helping others as a teacher.…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Immanuel Kant argues in the Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals that we have “duties to ourselves” which leads some actions to be wrong; however, these actions do not concern to anyone but ourselves. Giving a loan to oneself and promising to pay it back is such a duty that some might believe in, but other than that most believe there are no duties at all. The action could not be wrong if the only one person directly involved in that action agrees to it. Some might beg to differ from this argument. Kant believes that we have duties to ourselves, and his notion of moral duty is explained so as to encompass the idea of “duty to oneself.”…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Kant believed that the moral worth of an action depends solely on the motive of the action and that the supreme principle of morality is the categorical imperative. Now, consider that a man named Jones is terminally ill with only a week to live and his last week will be full of pain and misery. However, Jones, his family, and his physicians all agree that a drug-induced, painless death would be preferable; Jones just has to determine if an induced death is morally permissible. In order to do this Jones’, his family and his physicians must test their action as a categorical imperative by using Kant’s Universal Law, Law of Nature, and Humanity Formulation.…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Nature of a Meaningful Life Thomas Mann's Mario and the Magician is about a family who took a vacation in one of the beaches in Italy. For the purposes of this paper, the nature of a meaningful life will be analyzed based on the article, with Kant and Mill as sources to defend such analysis. Desires, Emotions, and Moral Choices Kant believed that desires and emotions do not play an essential role with how a person rejects or embraces morality (Kant, Abbott & Denis, 2005). In fact, morality should not be influenced with desires and emotions because in itself, morality is a sense of duty. As such, actions which are guided by morality do not seek for rewards but instead, such actions seek to fulfill a duty, which should be considered…

    • 1269 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Kant being filled with happiness and having the characteristic on being good are two different things. “Happiness can even be reduced to less than nothing”, but an achievement happiness is always conditioned. “Kant claims that a good will is an ultimate, unconditional good. Unconditional good is a good no matter how it was a achieved in a right way or wrong way, when to a ultimate good, is basically pleasure; is good regardless however the good was achieved. Kant believes that the action of duty has moral worth and if we were to avoid the doubt and have the lack of belief of our ethics, it must be rational based, unconditional.…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In the eyes to many philosopher’s punishment is seen as a correction method. Regardless of the crime committed, it is still viewed as pain inflicted upon another. Whether it is verbal, physical or emotional. Every state has their own ideologies about why and how an individual should be punished for their crimes. Furthermore, philosophers Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham propose the theories of punishment for how to deal with intentional crimes.…

    • 1875 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill demonstrate two contrasting moral theories. The philosophers have very different ideas about ethics and happiness. Immanuel Kant, author of “Duty and Reason”, believed in the morality of the good will and duty. According to Kant, happiness is an emotion unable to be controlled while motive is controllable; therefore, duty is the most important aspect of leading a moral life.…

    • 1751 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Maria assumes that Sue would tell her the truth, regardless if it might offend Maria. Maria expected Sue to treat her as a moral equal. In contrast, a weakness that Kantians theory has, is that it expects all people to behave rationally. “According to Kant, it is wrong for us, as rational beings, to act irrationally (109).” In order to act rational, an individual has to exclude themselves from their emotions.…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He strived to make morality and the same principles compliment all beings and make them view the world in only one way, his way. Immanuel Kant was a philosopher that believed morality is based on reason and not passion and it could be provable by reason as well. Kant’s ethics are all based off of the fundamental principle of morality, which comes with the freedom of your character and helping people, which was morally correct in his viewpoint. Kant speaks about the idea of freedom and the fundamental principle of morality. He explains that the reason that people are promoted to accomplish the correct action is because of freedom.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Weekly Reading Reflection

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In this essay I will be discussing how the weekly reading has on reflected me and how it has deepened my understanding of theories and application of it to the real world. This reflection is based on the readings, classes and assessments that have helped me throughout the duration in business in context class and the understanding of responsible business decision making. I didn’t believe ethic was important in business and always had thought that it was something that was always irrelevant to the business world. It was to my understanding before undertaking Business in Context that business was all about profit, nothing more or else just profits. Throughout the lectures and workshop this has changed the way I look at the business world.…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays