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Kant's Moral Theory (A Priori synthetic(Possible 20 marker) (How…

- - - - The ultimate goal of human life - summum bonum (place where our happiness and virtues come together).
        
        The highest good will be achieved in the afterlife.
        
        Morality leads to God - God shouldn’t be our motivation but but it will help us to lead us to God. .
    - - The theory is deontological - comes from the Greek word deon meaning duty. Most important thing to do is to perform one’s duty.
        
        As it is deontological, you should perform your duty, regardless of the consequences.
        
        The duties should be absolute and found through reason. As our reason tells us that actions are either right or wrong they must be right or wrong in all circumstances e.g. if your reason tells you killing is wrong it must be wrong in all circumstances.
        
        Good will should be the basis of a person’s duty - an action is good if it comes about as a result of a person’s good will.
        In order to act out of duty/goodwill a person should not:
        a)act out of self-interest/selfishness - others should benefit first
        b)Only do things because you enjoy it
        c)only do things because someone in authority told you to e.g. religion/law.
    - - Morality should not be a matter of obeying commands from God.
        
        Morality should be discovered through reason and should lead people to discover moral principles which should be followed by everyone.
        
        Religion should not be our motivation for acting morally.
    - - Morality should be a matter of following absolute commands - a categorical imperative. They should not depend on situations/consequences. E.g. you must not lie.
        
        Different to a hypothetical imperative which tells you to act in a certain way if you want to achieve certain results e.g. if you want to achieve X then do Y.
    - - Moral principles are unusual as they are a priori synthetic, meaning, they are gained through reason and not experience. E.g. you know from your ability to reason that killing is wrong
        
        Moral obligation/duties are therefore absolute. E.g. killing is, therefore, wrong in every situation.
        
        They are synthetic (not necessarily right or wrong). E.g. some people's reason may not tell them that killing is wrong, therefore just because your reason is telling you killing is always wrong some people may disagree.
    - - You should only do what you yourself would be happy for others to do too. Kant is aiming to ensure that we don't act out of self-interest. Christians would agree with this as it is compatible with Jesus' teachings 'treat others the way you wish to be treated'.
    - - Never use a human as a way of achieving a goal. Human lives are the most important thing in any moral decision. The suffering of an individual can never be justified e.g. Saddam Hussain to benefit others. This is compatible with Christian teachings e.g. sanctity of life.
    - - Morality isn't just a matter of individual behaviour - ethical behaviour has to apply to society as a whole - leaders and members. The same principles apply to all - regardless of class, age, race, sex etc. This is compatible with Jesus' teachings on equality to love one another.
    - - The theory does not tell you that actions are right or wrong, instead it gives general principles for you to apply and come to a decision. As humans we are free to do our own duty. If we aren't free we aren't true moral agents.