Categorical imperative

In Kant’s Section I of Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, he explains what is a good will. On Kant’s view, nothing can be regarded as good without qualification, except a good will. Additionally, Kant believes a good will is the indispensable condition of happiness. (Sec I. 393). Kant uses three examples to demonstrate the nature of good willing. Kant introduces three examples about three men in three different scenarios to demonstrate what it is to act according to duty. On Kant’s view,…

Assignment 1# Objections to Act Utilitarianism Act utilitarianism, as defined in lecture, is the ethical theory that states an act is only right if and only if the consequences of that act creates the greatest net balance of well-being out of all possible actions. For this paper, I will also draw on the definition of utilitarianism given by William Shaw, which has three main features. The first is that the only thing considered good unto itself is the well-being of humans and sentient…

1: How does reason influence moral judgments? Kohlberg in his studies on judgment and morality describes a dichotomy in the methods used to reach moral judgments, i.e. that there are two approaches: the influence of reason and the influence of emotion, and reiterates the long-held question of which influence generally determines moral judgments. Kohlberg lands on the side of Immanuel Kant and Jean Piaget in agreement that moral judgment comes predominately from reason rather than emotion which…

Consequentialism is the moral theory that only the consequences of actions are morally relevant. The action that has the best overall consequences would be considered the most morally right action. While ideas of what good or bad consequences are may be different, that doesn’t change the fundamental idea that the best consequences are the ones that come from the morally right action. Consequentialists must hold themselves to the exact same regard as other people, which disallows them to…

For Kant, lying is always wrong. It does not matter the situation someone is, as long as someone does the right thing for the sake of duty. However, there are paternalistic lies, which are lies that human being uses for protecting other people’s lives. Kant thinks if we do so, we are taking away their human rights. He says that lying affects our “intrinsic worth”, would threat people as a mean and not as an end, and would hurt people’s feeling. First, each person is born with “intrinsic worth”.…

Within the theory of utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill states that humans act according to the moral greater good of the many, instead of the individual, because it is in our nature to do so. The sole premise of this theory rests on the idea that the best outcome will always come from an action that favors the greatest good for the greatest number. Unlike other theories of this nature, Mills focused on the morality of actions instead of the justice associated with them. One example of this is the…

PHIL401 November 2, 2017 Objection to Joyce In Chapter 3 of The Evolution of Morality, Richard Joyce argues that “language is a prerequisite for having moral emotions” (Joyce, 76). According to Joyce, moral emotions are rich conceptually, and they have to involve moral concepts. He focuses on guilt, which is an emotion that is both related to moral sense and the language evolved traits. In this paper, I will argue that language is not a necessity for non-language users to have moral emotions…

Both Hobbes’ and Locke have very different descriptions of what morality in the state of nature would be like. People could argue that in Hobbes’ description of the state of nature morality is not necessarily a concern. People do not do things based on right and wrong, they do what pleases them. While Locke argues that everyone is give, at birth, a set of natural rights and obligations. All though in some instances there state of nature could be described as the same, how people’s morality plays…

“Actions are the seed of fate deeds grow into destiny” -Harry S Truman. He is saying that your actions determine your fate, which influences your destiny. He is warning us to be careful of what we do. This is also shown in the play Macbeth. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth is a nobleman to King Duncan. The play starts with Macbeth being a war hero by helping them win the war. This leads to the witches telling him he will become king. Macbeth believes them and ends up…

Albert Camus addresses the steps one should take when dealing with the notion of absurdity in order to make the choice to live without appeal. In the Myth of Sisyphus, Camus defines the clash between the irrational world and humans seeking for rational answers as absurdity. He then outlines the best solution for acknowledging the lack of meaning in life while not turning to suicide. There are many parallels to his reasoning in The Plague, where he uses the threat of sickness in a quarantined…