John Mill And Immanuel Kant Vs Utilitarianism

Bernard Williams created an experiment to question people about utilitarianism, to be for or against it. Jim finds himself in the central square of a small South American town where he has to make a strange decision. There are twenty Indians who caused some trouble in the town and since Jim is a visitor the captain has him decide the fate. He has the option of killing one and letting the others live or refusing and then they all will die. There’s no way to save myself and them all so he has to make a decision (JJC Smart and Bernard Williams, Utilitarianism: For and Against, 1973). There are two philosophers who made theories that will help Jim make his decision. John Mill and Immanuel Kant are too philosophers who made theories that based on …show more content…
Kant is considered to be the father of modern morality and also ethics. His morality is based a lot on the concept of “good will” and that our desires and emotions are a major key on how we determine what morality is. Works such as “Metaphysics of Morals”, was a big part of his work. Using good will as a base of his theory he explained goodwill as the act result from doing what is our duty. He believes that also morality all forced obligation. "…if a law is to have moral force, i.e., to be the basis of an obligation, it must carry with it absolute necessity." (Kant preface). Kant believed the effect of our desires and emotions are categorically imperative, meaning that they are conscience driven. The categorical imperative was big part of how Kant viewed morality and how what he developed his theory on. He states, "Act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that it should become a universal law" (Kant second section). This describes the categorical imperatives emphasizing that an individual 's behavior ought to live up to the moral laws. Believing that categorical imperatives should be fundamental to human life. Kant’s moral system relied heavily on the idea of the “categorical imperative.” The categorical imperative became important for Kant’s theory because they just tell us what it is we should do or not do clearly and to him, we must obey it. …show more content…
Rationality meaning one 's judge of values and one 's guide to action.“Settle, for sure and universally, what conduct will promote the happiness of a rational being.”( Kant) Kant first starts by arguing that we are indeed responsible for what we do. The actions that we take are not just a set of events that we have no control over. Other philosophers believe that they are just another set of events that are determined by the things we cannot control. He also bases morality as a matter of duty that is common sense. Whether we feel against or not we know the morally right thing and it’s our duty to care out our action. Apart from what is in the sense of good will nothing else is considered to be good. He says that when guided to do what’s good in by morality there is no seeking for the reward. The simple reward is doing the right thing. When based off of feelings as for a reward for doing the right thing then it is not morality. The main goal is to fulfill a duty, whether we think it’s right or wrong, whether we get pleasure from it or not, whether we benefit from it or not. In his view, morals are superior to emotions and desires. His theory consist of deontological ethics that are based on character (Kant, p 44). When a person makes a decision based on the moral law, then they are considered a “good” person in Kant’s eyes. He believes that doing the right thing acquire “good