Bentham and Kant’s Contrasting Views on Suicide
Suicide is a huge issue in today’s world, creating a rather touchy moral dilemma. While in some religious or cultural sects suicide is looked at as courageous and honorable, for others it is an inexcusable reprehensible act. Just as different sects of society have vastly different views about suicide, so do Kant and Bentham.
Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham would have a lot to say about suicide. Though they are both well known philosophers, they each had their own unique perspectives. While Kant sides with the deontological moral theory, Bentham stands with the teleological moral theory when discussing the moral problem at hand, suicide.
To start with, Immanuel Kant had his own specific ethical system giving us a certain set of guidelines to live by. He stands …show more content…
Therefore, Kant may have to look at the rationale, behind each suicide, to decide whether it was rational or not. But, if Kant believes that as rational beings, we can not use ourselves as a means to achieve death, then suicide may be viewed as morally wrong.
Though Immanuel Kant brings to light some very acceptable and valid viewpoints, Jeremy Bentham shares a different outlook on suicide.
Jeremy Bentham sides with the teleological moral theory. This theory has opposite viewpoints of the deontological moral theory, being that it is concerned only with the consequences of an action. In other words, the motives behind an action do not matter and are irrelevant. For Bentham, only the consequences matter.
Bentham believes in utilitarianism, meaning the greatest good for the greatest number of people. That is to say, we should act to minimize pain and maximize pleasure in the community. Bentham accepts that people are motivated solely by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Actions that lead to more pain than pleasure are morally bad in the eyes of the teleological moral
Suicide is a huge issue in today’s world, creating a rather touchy moral dilemma. While in some religious or cultural sects suicide is looked at as courageous and honorable, for others it is an inexcusable reprehensible act. Just as different sects of society have vastly different views about suicide, so do Kant and Bentham.
Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham would have a lot to say about suicide. Though they are both well known philosophers, they each had their own unique perspectives. While Kant sides with the deontological moral theory, Bentham stands with the teleological moral theory when discussing the moral problem at hand, suicide.
To start with, Immanuel Kant had his own specific ethical system giving us a certain set of guidelines to live by. He stands …show more content…
Therefore, Kant may have to look at the rationale, behind each suicide, to decide whether it was rational or not. But, if Kant believes that as rational beings, we can not use ourselves as a means to achieve death, then suicide may be viewed as morally wrong.
Though Immanuel Kant brings to light some very acceptable and valid viewpoints, Jeremy Bentham shares a different outlook on suicide.
Jeremy Bentham sides with the teleological moral theory. This theory has opposite viewpoints of the deontological moral theory, being that it is concerned only with the consequences of an action. In other words, the motives behind an action do not matter and are irrelevant. For Bentham, only the consequences matter.
Bentham believes in utilitarianism, meaning the greatest good for the greatest number of people. That is to say, we should act to minimize pain and maximize pleasure in the community. Bentham accepts that people are motivated solely by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Actions that lead to more pain than pleasure are morally bad in the eyes of the teleological moral