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8 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Where is Kant's Moral Argument found?
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'The critique of practical reason' |
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What does Kant say in his argument? |
The focus of Kant's moral argument is to show that it is reasonable to conclude that because perfect virtue ought to be rewarded by perfect happiness God must exist in order to bring this state of affairs about. |
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Postulates of practical reason |
1) Immortality [humans are immortal]. 2) God exists 3) Freedom [humans are autonomous, rational agents who are free to choose between different possibilities]. Kant believes that freedom is an important postulate for practical reason as he believes that humans can work out for themselves what is right or wrong. |
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Categorical imperatives in Kant's moral argument.
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Kant says that moral duty should be done for its own sake because it is rational and not because God commands it to be done. |
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Kant believes that morality is autonomous rather than heteronomous.
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1) Freely chosen 2) Can be discovered by reason 3) Independent of God Kant doesn't argue that morality comes from God, therefore God must exist. Heteronomous morality: 1) Imposed by an outside force 2) Not freely chosen 3) This is the view that morality and God are linked together. |
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Kant's Moral Argument
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2) Kant calls the combination of perfect happiness and perfect goodness the Summum Bonum or the highest good. 3) Kant concludes, using a posteriori reasoning, that Summum Bonum is not achieved in our earthy life. Therefore, Kant says that because Summum Bonum ought to be achieved it can be achieved and as it isn't achieved in this life, then it must be achieved in the next. 4) Kant thinks that God who is omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent must exist in order to bring about the Summum Bonum. 5) Kant affirms that it is reasonable to argue that perfect virtue ought to be rewarded by perfect happiness. 6) Humans cannot achieve the Summum Bonum without God and an afterlife. Therefore, God must exist to provide the Summum Bonum. |
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Objections to Kant's Moral Argument
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2) Brian Davies says that even if the Summum Bonum is a real possibility it is not possible for us to infer that God is the being to bring it about. Davies points out that the Summum Bonum could be actualised by a number of Gods working together or an angel, it doesn't have to be the theistic God. 3) Kant believes that humans are rational, autonomous beings who freely have the potential to do right and wrong. This fairness and reasonableness are built into the structure of the universe. However, the opposite may happen e.g. bad things may happen to good people. |
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