Kantian Ethics
Good Will and Duty:
• Bentham, Mill, Singer say: good in life is a synonym for happiness.
• Kant believed the only true good thing in life is a “Good Will” = having good
intentions.
• “Good will shines like a precious jewel”
• Kant believed good intentions = only thing in reality that has intrinsic
good
Deontological Ethics:
• Utilitarianism is a consequentialist or teleological ethical system. Whereas
Kantian Ethics = Deontological ethical system —> the
rightness/wrongness of an action is based on the action itself.
• Eg. Stealing from a person to feed a poor family: Utilitarian would permit is as
more people are getting pleasure than pain. Kantian would not as stealing is
wrong intrinsically.
Kant’s Good Will:
• doesn't matter if our intentions are carried out the way we intend them to,
only matters what we aim to do originally.
• the motive and outward action must correspond to each other. This is
our duty.
• Duty is NOT out of self-interest. It is NOT doing the right thing because we
feel like it eg. giving to charity today but not tomorrow because we only act
on our current whims.
• Similar to Judaeo-Christian religion, which is also based on duty: 10
commandments
Acting in Good Will + Acting according to your duty = A Moral Action
Example of Duty:
• take a profession where there are duties eg police officer, it is their duty to
intervene if there’s a crime, regardless of their feelings towards the person
committing it/ability to catch them.
• “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and
reverence… the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me”
Kant’s understanding of language:
• “ought” —> when you say you ought to do something = you should do it
• ought implies should BUT also can
• ‘I ought to give to charity’ VS ‘I ought to walk on the sun’. The second phrase
doesn't work as this is impossible, so it cant be considered as moral.
• Morality must be practical and logical.
• The Categorical Imperative:
Kant: we ought to do our duty (we should and can do it). We should not do it
because we get anything out of it, but because it’s right. To make it easier to
work this out Kan produced the Categorical Imperative - made up of 3
maxims, equally weighted and must be adhered to for an action to be a
duty.
• Maxim/Formation 1: Universalisation
“One should act in such a way that one could will it that one’s action should
become a universal law.”
, • For an action to be valid, the person doing it can only do so if they
believe, in the same situation, all people should act the same way.
• Eg. If a 16 year old wanted an abortion (as she felt too young), she must
accept that all 16 year olds who feel too young MUST have an abortion.
• For her action to be moral the principle must be able to be universalised. If
it can’t be universalised, it’s not the moral thing to do.
• For Kant, individual’s thoughts, feelings and emotions do not enter into it, one
belief should apply to all people.
Example 1: If USA believes in using the death penalty on a mass murderer (as
its about protecting the community) it must accept all mass murderers MUST be
killed.
Example 2: If a man has an affair (as he is attracted to another person), he
must accept all people MUST have affairs if they are attracted to someone else.
Why is universalisation a GOOD thing in ethics?
• It removes our ability to privilege our behaviour as, like Bentham, Kant
believes this would lead to ‘turning a blind eye’. We should hold ourselves to
the standard we hold society to.
Why is universalisation a BAD thing in ethics?
• assumes that everyone will feel the same about our actions. Eg Just because I
don’t want my girlfriend to cheat on me, doesn't mean she would mind if I
cheated on her it’s a Naturalistic Fallacy as it assumes everyone would
react the same.
The Misattribution of Sameness:
• Some argue Kant commits a fallacy of sameness = when we equate
sameness with 2 things that are related. This is a form of naturalistic
fallacy.
Eg. 2 girls are related by their femaleness and are therefore the same. This is of
course wrong - they are different.
- Kant commits a fallacy of sameness because he says we are all human so we
all have the same feelings and access to a situation.
• Maxim 2: Treat no one as a mere instrument
• “One should always act in such a way as to treat fellow beings as an end in
themselves and not a mere means to achieving an end”
• Kant, like Mill, believes in the status of humans
• Kant saw humans as free-willed, autonomous beings, who can choose
things for themselves - a key feature of humanity.
• But, he was adamant that a human should be treated as a human, not an
instrument for someone else’s pleasure.
Example: Immoral Shopkeeper VS Moral Shopkeeper —> immoral one
provides good service and listens and remembers the stories of customers.
BUT he does this so customers come back and spend more. The moral one
also provides a good service, but he does this because his DUTY is this. He
is not treating the customer as a means to an end.
A MERE Means:
• Kant accepted there is a process of using in every part of society.
Good Will and Duty:
• Bentham, Mill, Singer say: good in life is a synonym for happiness.
• Kant believed the only true good thing in life is a “Good Will” = having good
intentions.
• “Good will shines like a precious jewel”
• Kant believed good intentions = only thing in reality that has intrinsic
good
Deontological Ethics:
• Utilitarianism is a consequentialist or teleological ethical system. Whereas
Kantian Ethics = Deontological ethical system —> the
rightness/wrongness of an action is based on the action itself.
• Eg. Stealing from a person to feed a poor family: Utilitarian would permit is as
more people are getting pleasure than pain. Kantian would not as stealing is
wrong intrinsically.
Kant’s Good Will:
• doesn't matter if our intentions are carried out the way we intend them to,
only matters what we aim to do originally.
• the motive and outward action must correspond to each other. This is
our duty.
• Duty is NOT out of self-interest. It is NOT doing the right thing because we
feel like it eg. giving to charity today but not tomorrow because we only act
on our current whims.
• Similar to Judaeo-Christian religion, which is also based on duty: 10
commandments
Acting in Good Will + Acting according to your duty = A Moral Action
Example of Duty:
• take a profession where there are duties eg police officer, it is their duty to
intervene if there’s a crime, regardless of their feelings towards the person
committing it/ability to catch them.
• “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and
reverence… the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me”
Kant’s understanding of language:
• “ought” —> when you say you ought to do something = you should do it
• ought implies should BUT also can
• ‘I ought to give to charity’ VS ‘I ought to walk on the sun’. The second phrase
doesn't work as this is impossible, so it cant be considered as moral.
• Morality must be practical and logical.
• The Categorical Imperative:
Kant: we ought to do our duty (we should and can do it). We should not do it
because we get anything out of it, but because it’s right. To make it easier to
work this out Kan produced the Categorical Imperative - made up of 3
maxims, equally weighted and must be adhered to for an action to be a
duty.
• Maxim/Formation 1: Universalisation
“One should act in such a way that one could will it that one’s action should
become a universal law.”
, • For an action to be valid, the person doing it can only do so if they
believe, in the same situation, all people should act the same way.
• Eg. If a 16 year old wanted an abortion (as she felt too young), she must
accept that all 16 year olds who feel too young MUST have an abortion.
• For her action to be moral the principle must be able to be universalised. If
it can’t be universalised, it’s not the moral thing to do.
• For Kant, individual’s thoughts, feelings and emotions do not enter into it, one
belief should apply to all people.
Example 1: If USA believes in using the death penalty on a mass murderer (as
its about protecting the community) it must accept all mass murderers MUST be
killed.
Example 2: If a man has an affair (as he is attracted to another person), he
must accept all people MUST have affairs if they are attracted to someone else.
Why is universalisation a GOOD thing in ethics?
• It removes our ability to privilege our behaviour as, like Bentham, Kant
believes this would lead to ‘turning a blind eye’. We should hold ourselves to
the standard we hold society to.
Why is universalisation a BAD thing in ethics?
• assumes that everyone will feel the same about our actions. Eg Just because I
don’t want my girlfriend to cheat on me, doesn't mean she would mind if I
cheated on her it’s a Naturalistic Fallacy as it assumes everyone would
react the same.
The Misattribution of Sameness:
• Some argue Kant commits a fallacy of sameness = when we equate
sameness with 2 things that are related. This is a form of naturalistic
fallacy.
Eg. 2 girls are related by their femaleness and are therefore the same. This is of
course wrong - they are different.
- Kant commits a fallacy of sameness because he says we are all human so we
all have the same feelings and access to a situation.
• Maxim 2: Treat no one as a mere instrument
• “One should always act in such a way as to treat fellow beings as an end in
themselves and not a mere means to achieving an end”
• Kant, like Mill, believes in the status of humans
• Kant saw humans as free-willed, autonomous beings, who can choose
things for themselves - a key feature of humanity.
• But, he was adamant that a human should be treated as a human, not an
instrument for someone else’s pleasure.
Example: Immoral Shopkeeper VS Moral Shopkeeper —> immoral one
provides good service and listens and remembers the stories of customers.
BUT he does this so customers come back and spend more. The moral one
also provides a good service, but he does this because his DUTY is this. He
is not treating the customer as a means to an end.
A MERE Means:
• Kant accepted there is a process of using in every part of society.
