Rayan Sariedine
Professor Hernandez
Ethics
8 July, 2016
Moral Law
A “maxim” is a basic principal that a person applies to their actions in life, that an individual uses in making decisions, i.e. motivation, goal, or context. Maxims generally are any simple guide for living. All of the decisions in a person’s life, which presumably are based on different maxims lead a person into an individual path in life. In Kant’s mind maxims are completely subjective. Knowing the difference between right and wrong helps individuals make a more morally-sound decision.
Immanuel Kant was born in the East Prussian city of Konigsberg. After being in a university he was a tutor and professor for more than 30 years. His work made a change and had an …show more content…
In Kantian ethics it is tolerable to increase one’s financial situation by any means that are safe. He states the examples of a deposit in his hands that belonged to someone who is now dead but that left no record of it. He therefore applied the maxim and asks whether it would take the form of a law and if, from this maxim, provide a law like this: that anyone and everyone would deny money that could not be traced to somebody else. Kant therefore realized, that this principle would destruct itself because if this was the case then there would be no deposits. Kant adds that an action can also have “moral worth.” This can happen if and only if the person acting with that maxim in mind mentions the reason why they are conforming to their own personal moral requirement. Therefore, a person’s actions have moral worth when she does their duty just for the sake of duty of completes an action for the right reason. Personally, Kant believed that through all of man’s actions that have ever taken place, it is impossible to know whether any of their actions had any moral worth. It might also look like that person has acted completely out of duty, but it could also be an illusion of self-interest. This being the case, a person is not the best moral decider of their
Professor Hernandez
Ethics
8 July, 2016
Moral Law
A “maxim” is a basic principal that a person applies to their actions in life, that an individual uses in making decisions, i.e. motivation, goal, or context. Maxims generally are any simple guide for living. All of the decisions in a person’s life, which presumably are based on different maxims lead a person into an individual path in life. In Kant’s mind maxims are completely subjective. Knowing the difference between right and wrong helps individuals make a more morally-sound decision.
Immanuel Kant was born in the East Prussian city of Konigsberg. After being in a university he was a tutor and professor for more than 30 years. His work made a change and had an …show more content…
In Kantian ethics it is tolerable to increase one’s financial situation by any means that are safe. He states the examples of a deposit in his hands that belonged to someone who is now dead but that left no record of it. He therefore applied the maxim and asks whether it would take the form of a law and if, from this maxim, provide a law like this: that anyone and everyone would deny money that could not be traced to somebody else. Kant therefore realized, that this principle would destruct itself because if this was the case then there would be no deposits. Kant adds that an action can also have “moral worth.” This can happen if and only if the person acting with that maxim in mind mentions the reason why they are conforming to their own personal moral requirement. Therefore, a person’s actions have moral worth when she does their duty just for the sake of duty of completes an action for the right reason. Personally, Kant believed that through all of man’s actions that have ever taken place, it is impossible to know whether any of their actions had any moral worth. It might also look like that person has acted completely out of duty, but it could also be an illusion of self-interest. This being the case, a person is not the best moral decider of their