Kant Formula of Humanity Conceptual Map 
Kant's Mistakes
- Extreme altruism (Selfish motivation is immoral as to Kant, the "honest" shopkeeper who offers fair prices was only targeting better profit for himself, in other words, besides the motive of duty, any forms of helping others that are made for self-satisfaction is not purely moral). (p.114)
Supreme Principle of Morality
2. Freedom: autonomy vs. heteronomy
1. Morality: duty vs. inclination
Incination means doing an action because it incites pleasure or you hope to gain something from doing so
3. Intelligible vs. Sensible Realms
Acting out of a motive other than duty means that our action is lack of moral. (Only duty is worhty of being a moral action)
Autonomy is acting in accordance with a law I give myself. Whenever behavior is motivated biologically or socially, it is not free
Law comes from reason because we are rational beings capable of reason
Heteronomy is acting according to determinations given outside of me. We are the slaves of our appetites and desires. Example: "Obey Your Thirst" advertisement, I am acting out of obedience for my thirst.
Natural beings belong to the sensible world. Actions determined by the laws of nature
Only beings of the intelligible world can be free because they are capable of being rational and therefore autonomous
Rational beings inhabit the intelligible world. They are not bound by the laws of nature because they are capable of autonomy
Categorical Imperative: CI is to act for the sake of duty only; it is unconditional, not in exchange for something, the "one that applies regardless of the circumstances"
Kant's Categorical Imperative
Formula of Universal Law: You should should only act for those reasons which have the following characteristic: you can act for that reason while at the same time willing that it be a universal law that everyone adopt that reason for acting
Formula of Humanity: An action is right is the action treat persons (including oneself) as ends in themselves rather than as means to our ends.
Formula of Autonomy:An agent is obliged to follow the Categorical Imperative because of their rational will, rather than any outside influence
- Hypocritical judgement
(We ain't acting freely because of our natural desires and so only the forced moral being counts).
Hypothetical Imperative: HI is acting in order to receive some kind of reward, "If you want X, then do Y"
The formula of universal law and the formula of humanity
are just two ways of stating the same thing. They are two different ways of expressing a single moral law.
3, Overvalued categorical imperative (Kant expects all human being to act morally through his acts).
Kant's Case of Rights
law of cause and effect
Laws of natural necessity
Law of physics
Us, as human beings
Means vs. Ends: Treating you as a vehicle for his own ends vs. treating you as deserving respect and consideration in
your own right.
Sex, Lies, and Politics
What would FH say about self-defense? Deontologists judge the rightness or wrongness of acts not be goodness of consequences, but by accord with or violation of certain moral rules.
4, Unicity of thoughts ( Kant's Formula of Universal Law)
Kant believes that casual sex is harmful because it is only about the satisfaction of sexual desire and that degrades the respect we should have for our partners. Kant believes that must not treat ourselves and other humans as merely objects, and that we do not own ourselves
- Assumption of excuse for the immoral actions (To Kant, if we admire the inevitability of our natural desire, people would seek pretext.)
Kant believes that we must not lie no matter what, regardless of the circumstances and the consequences, and if do otherwise such lying to a murderer, we are violating the the principle of right.
Kant rejects utilitarian approach that the right thing to do is the one that maximize the happniess of the whole society.
Kang also rejects the Aristotelian's virtue-based approach.
click to edit
- Kant believes that lying under all circumstances is wrong. We feel that sometimes, lying for a good reason is needed, like the example mentioned about the Nazi and Anne Frank