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KANTS CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE - Coggle Diagram
KANTS CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
KANT
considered one of the most influential thinkers of the enlightenment era, and one of the greatest western philosophers of all times
Studies mathematics but later became a doctor of philosophy at the university of Konisberg,
he taught here until his death
he grew up in the sect of protestant pietis but his ethics are known for being largely secular
year by year he taught students and built up is notes for what was his 3 great critiques:
the critique of pure reason
the critique of practical reason
the critique of judgement
KANT BELIEVED EVERYONE HAS AN INBUILT SENSE OF MORAL DUTY
it is not god-imposed, so its secular ethic
we should do what is right because that is part of what it means to be a rational human being
Our capacity for rational thought is an innate intellectual power that humans possess more or less equally
this distinguishes humans from being animals
this appeal to reason means it can be a universal ethic
DEONTOLOGICAL
kants theory is deontological as its based on duty
its rules are absolute and exceptionalness
GOOD WILL
Kant insists there is only one thing that can be regarded as good without qualification
a good will is the only thing unconditionally, universally and intrinsically good
acts that result from intellect or personality are at best, instrumentally good
goodness cannot be measured by consequences , as these are uncertain
IN ATTEMPTING TO DEFINE GOD WILL:
Kant rejected humes links to self-interest, emotions, desires and consequences as these can all change
its all about having the right motive and duty alone provides this
duty for duty sake means obeying a particular moral principle out of duty.
CATEGORICAL IMPERITIVE
in order to get the right sense if the categorical imperative, Kant contrasted it with the hypothetical imperative:
this is a relative conditional moral commanded, related to self-interest and consequence
the categorical imperative is an absolute, unconditional moral command
there are 3 formulations of Kants categorical imperative and these serve as the criteria for the richness/wrongness of an action:
1) UNIVERSALISABILITY:
In all cases, it must be logically possible for all people to carry out the rule behind your action, in all circumstanced
if the action is shown to be illogical when universalised, this is known as the 'contradiction in conception'
2) THE PRACTICAL IMPERITIVE:
"do not treat humans as means to an end, but asa end in themselves"
it is always wrong to use or harm humans in the way we behave
any action that does this is unacceptable
3) THE KINGDOM OF ENDS:
Act as if you were making laws for a kingdom that treated people as ends in themselves
all beings must consider how their actins benefit society, as an individual
this is unconditional in nature and the way God behaves
SUMMUM BONUM
For kant this is the supreme/highest good
this is where virtue meets its appropriate reward of perfect happiness
humans should strive to be worthy of this happiness
obedience to the categorical imperative is the means of being worthy of it
We achieve this by being perfectly rational
Belief in the summer bonus and the categorical imperative entails making 3 assumptions about the world that kant referred to as the 3 prostulates
1) GOD: only gof can provide immortality so he exists to guarantee the summer bonum
2) IMMORTALITY: - The reward of perfect happiness for virtue cannot be achieved in one lifetime so there must be immortality
3) FREEDOM: we cannot prove we have free will but its a necessary assumption since free will is at he heart of mortality