This essay aims to present a formulation of the categorical Imperative called the Humanity Formulation and deem it as a sufficient and plausible condition in determining moral worth.
As a deontologist, Immanuel Kant believes that an action's moral worth is determined by the motive rather than the consequences it leads to and the focus of our moral actions should be on duty. This idea, called the categorical imperative, was a central and supreme concept of morality in Kantian ethics. The categorical imperative has four formulations but this essay focuses only on one; the Humanity Formulation. This formulation is perhaps the one with the most appeal and resonance with us because the two basic notions derived from it regard treating persons …show more content…
Kant's emphasis on this shows his belief that being human, solely has value in itself. Other people aren't mere instruments for our own benefit. This is highlighted in Kant's "lying promise" illustration. For example, suppose someone borrows money from a friend while promising to return it after they get back on track with their finances. But, they know that they will not return the money ever. While this type of deceitful promise will undermine other promises that person may make in the future, it is also undermining the friend's humanity by having the person reduce their friend to an object or an instrument for acquiring financial gain. This also applies to ourselves as well. We cannot violate our humanity and respect in order to pursue someone else's ends. This works in the same way that committing suicide would violate the Humanity Formulation. This is especially seen in Kant's illustration in which a man ending his life to escape his life's evils is seen as a violation of the formulation. Shortening one's life goes against the idea of the Humanity Formulation because one is using themselves as a means in order to reach a tolerable state of life until their death. When we treat others or ourselves in such a way that doesn’t reflect our inherent values, we dishonor each other's or our own
As a deontologist, Immanuel Kant believes that an action's moral worth is determined by the motive rather than the consequences it leads to and the focus of our moral actions should be on duty. This idea, called the categorical imperative, was a central and supreme concept of morality in Kantian ethics. The categorical imperative has four formulations but this essay focuses only on one; the Humanity Formulation. This formulation is perhaps the one with the most appeal and resonance with us because the two basic notions derived from it regard treating persons …show more content…
Kant's emphasis on this shows his belief that being human, solely has value in itself. Other people aren't mere instruments for our own benefit. This is highlighted in Kant's "lying promise" illustration. For example, suppose someone borrows money from a friend while promising to return it after they get back on track with their finances. But, they know that they will not return the money ever. While this type of deceitful promise will undermine other promises that person may make in the future, it is also undermining the friend's humanity by having the person reduce their friend to an object or an instrument for acquiring financial gain. This also applies to ourselves as well. We cannot violate our humanity and respect in order to pursue someone else's ends. This works in the same way that committing suicide would violate the Humanity Formulation. This is especially seen in Kant's illustration in which a man ending his life to escape his life's evils is seen as a violation of the formulation. Shortening one's life goes against the idea of the Humanity Formulation because one is using themselves as a means in order to reach a tolerable state of life until their death. When we treat others or ourselves in such a way that doesn’t reflect our inherent values, we dishonor each other's or our own