Hypothetical imperative

As I was reading about deontology in the book it is my understanding that deontology is an ethical position on what is morally correct and what is not. In the next section the book talks about what Kant thought about moral duties. The book gives different definitions to certain types of duty. Immanuel Kant’s definition of ethics is considered deontological for many reasons. Kant says that to be moral in a right way that people must act from duty. His second justification is that it is not the…

Both of the claims (1) and (2) present no reasons to dispute. Claim (3) follows from the reasoning of both claim (1) and (2). Claim (4) seems to be where the problem begins. This claim is an implication of determinism as defined by van Inwagen. Consequently, the argument now returns to the initial criticism of van Inwagen's definition of determinism. As a quick reminder van Inwagen's definition of determinism is that “[f]or every instant in time, there is a proposition that expresses that…

Narveson’s argument provides the difference between charity and justice. In his argument, he considers the demands of justice are enforceable to all people, while charity is not. This means that, in some instance people are forced to act with justice because it is morally permissible, though, it is not permissible at all instance to force people to be charitable since, it is not morally permissible. Narveson's argument shows that the call to charity is personal and not forced. He argues that it…

Ancient Greek philosophy can be classified into three main categories: physics, ethics, and logic. Material philosophy is concerned with some object and laws to which these objects are the subject. Physics, the law of nature, and ethics, the laws of freedom, fit into this subsection. Logic goes under formal philosophy, which is associated with the forma of reason and understanding. Pure philosophy include concepts that occur to us without any experience, while empirical philosophy are objects…

Kant asks his readers to live through the terms of direct and indirect duties. A direct duty is an obligation from being to another based on what that being is. An indirect duty is an obligation to something as a result of a direct duty. A real life example that portrays this system would go as follows: a man has a direct duty to another human, Sally, but because she is a self-conscious human. This same man, Erik, does not have a direct duty to sally’s cat, Bons. Erik’s duties to this cat are…

protect the general public. To Kant, lying would not be acceptable ever. According to his philosophy, one person lying is allowing for everyone to lie. There would be no exceptions for one type of lie. Kant's first formulation of his categorical imperative says “Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law." If we apply this to the situation, it means if one lie is acceptable all lies are acceptable. In my personal opinion,…

In “The Ethics of Natural Law,” C.E. Harris explains the views of natural-law theorists. First, he states that the moral standard of natural law is that the actions that promote the values that follow the natural inclinations of human beings are right. These values include life, procreation, knowledge, and sociability. Anything, such as murder, birth control, stifling intellectual curiosity, or spreading lies, that opposes these four natural inclinations is wrong. Then, Harris notes that…

According to Immanuel Kant, 18th century philosopher, the moral worth of an action depends only on the intentions of its performer, not on the consequences. It is one’s duty or respect of moral law to act in the way of what is morally right, not in a way that he/she wants or desires. Another requirement of an action to be called moral is that it should be performed out of the good will. Action according with good will means, that that action is not done for another end, in is done for its own…

Kant has defined a will so good that it does not have to by entirely good, but it needs to be the highest of all goods. This good will, as defined by Kant, is not good because of its effects but as itself. Reason, in this manner, is almost not needed for certain tasks as instincts are perfectly capable of replacing reason. Furthermore, the concept of one’s duty goes hand in hand with Kant’s good will. Goodness is not a result from acting on an impulse of an individual’s belief of Mother Nature.…

Kant believed that a good will truly comes from within one’s own self. This does not mean that we need to deny his mentality, his spiritual makeup, the constitution of his personality, or in essence, his soul, however, it does mean that we ought to deny the part of him that is the root cause of all of his pain and anguish: his ego and we do this through self-restraint and one’s will power. This contrasts Aristotle’s view because it suggests that a man pursuing excellence in his rational…