Immanuel Kant Kant Groundwork for the Metaphysics of

Immanuel Kant

Kant: Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals • 18 th-Century German philosopher • Worked on metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics

The Good Will • Nothing is an unqualified good except a good will

The Good Will • Nothing is an unqualified good except a good will • The goodness of the motive or principle is more important than the consequences

The Good Will • Nothing is an unqualified good except a good will • The goodness of the motive or principle is more important than the consequences • To have a good will is to do one's duty not out of inclination, but for the sake of duty.

The Good Will • Nothing is an unqualified good except a good will • The goodness of the motive or principle is more important than the consequences • To have a good will is to do one's duty not out of inclination, but for the sake of duty. • Example: the two shopkeepers

The Good Will • Nothing is an unqualified good except a good will • The goodness of the motive or principle is more important than the consequences • To have a good will is to do one's duty not out of inclination, but for the sake of duty. • Example: the two shopkeepers • Duty=the necessity of an act done out of respect for the law • The moral law, not referring to legality

The Good Will • Nothing is an unqualified good except a good will • The goodness of the motive or principle is more important than the consequences • To have a good will is to do one's duty not out of inclination, but for the sake of duty. • Example: the two shopkeepers • Duty=the necessity of an act done out of respect for the law • The moral law, not referring to legality • What is the moral law?

The Moral Law • Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives • Imperatives are commands, or claims about what one ought to do. • “All imperatives are expressed by a ‘must. ’”

The Moral Law • Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives • Imperatives are commands, or claims about what one ought to do. • “All imperatives are expressed by a ‘must. ’” • Hypothetical Imperatives claim that a possible action is necessary as a means to the attainment of something one wants.

The Moral Law • Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives • Imperatives are commands, or claims about what one ought to do. • “All imperatives are expressed by a ‘must. ’” • Hypothetical Imperatives claim that a possible action is necessary as a means to the attainment of something one wants. • A Categorical Imperative represents an action as objectively necessary, without regard to a further end.

The Moral Law • Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives • Imperatives are commands, or claims about what one ought to do. • “All imperatives are expressed by a ‘must. ’” • Hypothetical Imperatives claim that a possible action is necessary as a means to the attainment of something one wants. • A Categorical Imperative represents an action as objectively necessary, without regard to a further end. • Kant: Moral requirements derive from a single categorical imperative.

The Categorical Imperative • The formula of universal law: “Act only on that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. ” • “Maxim” = a principle on which one acts.

The Categorical Imperative • The formula of universal law: “Act only on that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. ” • “Maxim” = a principle on which one acts. • The test is not whether one would want one’s maxim to be a universal law, but whether it would be consistent to will it to be so.

The Categorical Imperative • Kant's examples • • A depressed man contemplates suicide. A man considers making a false promise. A gifted man considers not developing his talents. A flourishing man thinks about whether he should help others.

The Categorical Imperative • Formula of Humanity “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in any other person, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means. ”

The Categorical Imperative • Formula of Humanity “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in any other person, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means. ” • Kant: This is equivalent to the formula of universal law.

The Categorical Imperative • Formula of Humanity “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in any other person, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means. ” • Kant: This is equivalent to the formula of universal law. • To violate either is to make an exception of oneself, which involves acting inconsistently and therefore irrationally.

The Categorical Imperative • Kingdom of Ends – a conception of seeing others as rational beings worthy of respect