The Principle Of Humanity Analysis

Modern culture has established a social order in which ideals, opinions, and advice are constantly imposed upon society. Peers, teachers, trainers, etc. offer guidance and advocacy for different behavior; but how do those in our inner circle determine what actions are right or wrong themselves? In order to help us understand the structure behind moral philosophy, many theories of morality have been developed. I have elected to argue the Principle of Humanity as the most valid moral theory due to the fact that without following this formula humanity would be treated as objects of no intrinsic value, counteracting our superiority.
According to Kantian’s, the Principle of Humanity is the ultimate moral formulation, claiming that one must always …show more content…
This approach to morality involves a five-step process in order to analyze which path of action to take. First, consequentialists determine what is intrinsically (valuable in and of itself) good and bad. For example, happiness is intrinsically good, but on the other hand pain is considered intrinsically bad. Next, one must determine all of his or her possible actions and then determine the value of each action’s results. The final step involves selecting the action that produces the highest ratio of positive to negative results, therefore making failure to pick the greatest good immoral. For example, if determining the morality of torture a consequentialist may first determine that safety is intrinsically good and danger intrinsically good. In a given situation, if torture yields the highest ratio of safety to danger it would be the morally right action. However, this theory does not take into consideration human rights such as freedom or …show more content…
Dissimilar from many other moral theories, this principle does not have a set formula involving chronological steps that lead to determination of the morality of an action. Critics argue that it is hard to apply, given the ambiguity of treating one as an end analysis and determination is difficult. For example, if a German man was hiding a Jewish family in his basement during the holocaust, is it morally wrong to lie to an interrogating Nazi? The Principle of Humanity deems it morally wrong due to the fact that the man is treating the officer without respect and as a means of hiding the family. However, most view it morally right to save innocent lives rather than cooperate with Nazis. This principle fails to provide guidelines of what is considered treating someone with the respect they deserve and can be interpreted in numerous