Hypothetical imperative

It is always a tragedy when a loved one passes. To add to the heartbreak, there are many difficult decisions that the family must make. These decisions can be a lot easier if your loved ones talk to you before they pass on what their wishes are, or so you’d think. The Briggs family is faced with a difficult decision to make when their Grandpa Joe passes. Grandpa Joe has entrusted the decisions of his funeral to his daughter Judith. He told her that he wishes to be buried in a casket with a large…

• This approach of all the possible alternatives is the least ethical in the case of Kant’s imperative. First of all, Janeen’s rights of a worker are being violated because she is lying and being dishonest, and she knows it. Second of all, the rights of the customers are being violated because they are being given false or faulty information about possible alternatives. Third, according to Kant’s imperative, a decision is decided to be just if it could be law. Lying or bearing false witness is…

Next, we will define the categorical imperative and apply it to this ethical dilemma. The Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals starts by making the distinction between “pure” and “empirical” philosophy. According to Kant, “metaphysics” or pure philosophy is based on a priori concepts. A priori…

Philosophical Ultrasound of Abortion Abortion is an ancient practice. In ancient Greek and Latin societies, abortion was commonly practiced by doctors, especially in the case of extra-marital pregnancies . In Greece it was used to regulate the size of the population and maintain stable economic and social conditions . We lack statistics from the time to know how frequent abortion in these ancient empires was, or data that could help us study the progression on abortion practices over time and…

Hate Radio: The Outer Limits of Tasteful Broadcasting Today in our world, unfortunately, we are often faced with ethical dilemmas. Whether they are either expected or unexpected, it’s vital for one to know how to solve these dilemmas, especially when working in media. In order to effectively do this, it is important for one to be familiar with both the tools and theories behind the intellectual minds of society’s infamous ethicists. However, keep in mind that this process is difficult, because…

About the Ground of Morality In the controversy of the general foundation of morality, Hume insists that sentiment is the ground of morality, and Kant holds that reason is the foundation of morality. In my opinion, although reasons play a role in morality, it is sentiment that ultimately determine what is morally good or evil. In this essay, I will explain both Hume and Kant’s arguments, elaborate on an objection to Kant’s argument with explanation, and finally provide the potential objection to…

instead of following a universal rule or law is wrong. Because of this Kant’s Categorical Imperatives by their very nature reject the theories of John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism. If in Jim’s situation he were to choose to kill the man and save himself or the others, he would be seen as using the innocent as a mean to an end, an immoral act according to Kant. To be aligned with these Categorical Imperatives was to live…

The main Utilitarian principle, as brought forth by John Stuart Mill posits that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” Basically, Utilitarianism holds the view that actions are morally justifiable insofar as they increase the overall happiness in the world. Following this doctrine, Mill would argue that it is almost patently true that the principle would endorse the torture of the child. Reason enough as it…

What would you do if tomorrow never arrives? In the movie Groundhog Day, weatherman Phil Connors dealt with this question. He was forced to relive the same day over and over again, and he needed to decide on what to do with this repeating day. If there is no tomorrow, it is true that “we could do whatever we wanted” since “there would be no consequences”, as said by the two drunken men in the movie. However, we should also ask ourselves what aspects should we based our choices of actions on. In…

According to Kant, in his work The Good Will and The Categorical Imperative we should “act only in accordance with that maxim through which [we] can at the same time will that it became a natural law” (Kant 76). This statement suggests that people should behave in a way that can be imitated by everyone in the world without…