Kant's Moral Theory Analysis

Introduction In this paper, I will explain the birth of Kant’s moral theory (Kant). Then I will introduce the idea that such a theory suggests individuals are often morally obligated to help others, regardless of whether doing so serves a self-interest or not. From there, I will go ahead and prove the argument by way of both the universal law formulation and the humanity formulation, which are two elements of Kant’s Categorical Imperative procedure, used to test rules of morality. Finally, I will build a contrasting image of Kant’s moral theory to John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarian moral theory, through the use of examples (Mill).
Exposition
Firstly, it is important to know that Kant built his entire moral theory based on the premise that not …show more content…
Well, the best way to test this claim it to run a maxim that shows people not acting selflessly for the benefice of others and prove its immorality according to the universal law formulation. So, imagine the maxim, “I will walk past the drowning stranger in order to get to work on time.” If such a maxim, became universal law, meaning everyone walked past drowning strangers to get to work on time, one, would the maxim be effective and, two, would this be a desirable world to live in? The answer to number one is yes, because, unlike lying, nothing about the maxim being a part of instinctual nature makes it less effective. You could still make it to work on time by not saving a drowning stranger, even if everyone avoided the drowning stranger for the same end. However, the answer to question two, is seemingly no. Not many people would desire to live in a world full of self-interested people, who cannot sacrifice being a few minutes late to work to save a stranger. In this way, the universal law formulation argues that not sacrificing personal interests for the benefit of another is immoral in this case. So, the formulation proves the claim, that Kant’s moral theory sometimes requires people to help others, regardless if doing so is against personal …show more content…
Through his moral theory and more specifically through two aspects of the categorical imperative procedure, the universal law formulation and the humanities formulation, it becomes clear that Kant’s theory sometimes requires people to sacrifice self-interests for the benefice of others. Finally, it has been made clear that Kant’s moral theory is a deviation from John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism, which only cares about the results of action. Therefore, such a move by Kant to include motives into moral calculations shows an overall broadening of moral