Immanuel Kant S Moral Theory
Immanuel Kant’s Moral Theory
Although Kant's moral theory makes many great points about fairness and equality, the negatives of the theory outweigh the positives. Kant’s moral theory would never be able to function in today’s society. His theory is based solely on always fulfilling your moral duty. Which would be impossible since once someone told a lie or showed emotion everything would fall apart. Due to the fact that everyone wouldn’t trust anyone anymore which wouldn’t end up well.
Deontology is defined as the theory of duty. Kant’s moral theory can be categorized as a deontological theory, due to his belief that you have a moral duty to fulfill (Kant 114). Kant believes that all people have intrinsic or inherent value. Which in simple terms mean that we as human beings are held to a higher standard; to know what is right and wrong (Kant 114). Kant states that there are only two principles for an action to be morally right. First, you must have done the action out of the motivation of good will. Kant defines good will as “To act out of duty, out of a concern and respect for the moral law”(Kant 114). Good will plays a very important role on assessing the moral worth of an action. Kant explains that you can’t just have good will for an action but also you must do the right thing. So without good will you couldn’t determine any action morally right. The second principle is that the action must conform to moral law. If you follow these two principles the outcome being good or bad is not your responsibility (Kant 113). Moral law is universal and is determined by categorical imperatives. The use of categorical imperatives plays a big role in Kant’s overall moral theory. The first categorical imperative formulation is “ Act only on that maxim that you can will as a universal law” (Kant 116). This categorical imperative applies to everyone and focuses on your thought process before you act on something. You must ask yourself is what I’m about to do something I
Although Kant's moral theory makes many great points about fairness and equality, the negatives of the theory outweigh the positives. Kant’s moral theory would never be able to function in today’s society. His theory is based solely on always fulfilling your moral duty. Which would be impossible since once someone told a lie or showed emotion everything would fall apart. Due to the fact that everyone wouldn’t trust anyone anymore which wouldn’t end up well.
Deontology is defined as the theory of duty. Kant’s moral theory can be categorized as a deontological theory, due to his belief that you have a moral duty to fulfill (Kant 114). Kant believes that all people have intrinsic or inherent value. Which in simple terms mean that we as human beings are held to a higher standard; to know what is right and wrong (Kant 114). Kant states that there are only two principles for an action to be morally right. First, you must have done the action out of the motivation of good will. Kant defines good will as “To act out of duty, out of a concern and respect for the moral law”(Kant 114). Good will plays a very important role on assessing the moral worth of an action. Kant explains that you can’t just have good will for an action but also you must do the right thing. So without good will you couldn’t determine any action morally right. The second principle is that the action must conform to moral law. If you follow these two principles the outcome being good or bad is not your responsibility (Kant 113). Moral law is universal and is determined by categorical imperatives. The use of categorical imperatives plays a big role in Kant’s overall moral theory. The first categorical imperative formulation is “ Act only on that maxim that you can will as a universal law” (Kant 116). This categorical imperative applies to everyone and focuses on your thought process before you act on something. You must ask yourself is what I’m about to do something I