PHIL 220 Philosophy : Solution Essays

Rubric

Ethics is a division of philosophy which addresses the matters pertaining to concepts of right and wrong. It is referred to as moral philosophy. Ethical issues consist of matters which involve the methods regarding things should be rather than the method in which things are supposed to be. They comprise of moral obligations. Ethics cannot be compared with religion as ethical principles apply to everyone whereas religion is followed by some people (Harvard University, 2017).

One of the disciplines of ethics is Kantian Duty Based (Deontological) Ethics. The word deontology is derived from a Greek word ‘Deon’ which means duty. This theory was proposed by Immanuel Kant in 1788.   The Deontological Theory of Ethics explains that people have the moral obligation to act in accordance with a set of standards and rules irrespective of their results. The rules or maxims of this theory are originated from logic and reasoning. The Deontological theory considers that some acts are always immoral even if they are leading to a right result. The activities are always judged irrespective of their results (Turner, 2016).

There are three propositions of Kant’s Categorical Imperatives:

The first proposition states that a true moral proposition must not be dependent on any particular condition. Also, the identity of the person involved in the decision making process shall not influence the proposition. As per Kant, the duties specified by these formulations can be divided into two categories viz. perfect and imperfect duty. The perfect duty is not acted according to maxims which results to logical contradictions when people attempt to make them universal. The perfect duties are blame worthy if not met as they are the basic duty of every human being (Kompanje & Groot, 2015).

The imperfect duties are based on pure reasons but are dependent on the preference of human kind. It is still morally binding though not as strong as a perfect duty (Thomas, 2015).The second formula is based on the formula of humanity. An individual has a perfect duty to not to use their humanity and those of others merely as a means of some other end. It also leads to an imperfect duty as if any person desires to be perfect in others and themselves, it is his moral duty to desire the end for all people equally. The condition being that the end should not oppose the perfect duty (McCarty, 2015).

The third ideology is the formulation of autonomy. It leads to the concept of self-legislation. Through the third formulation, Kant has introduced a difference between the autonomy i.e. self-law giving and heteronomy i.e. law-giving defined by others. He further explains that each human being must though his own use of logic perform the acts, but at the same time do not encroach the freedom of others. Thus, each action must be universally self –legislated (Doody, 2014).

The role of motivation in decision making refers to the Moral Laws who determine the decisions which are governed by a good intention. Thus a thought of duty is motivated by a human will in which the Moral Law is decisive. Kant’s concept of an autonomous person pertains to the Moral autonomy which is the capability of an individual to give oneself the moral law, instead of merely obeying the orders of others (Vitolina, Calsa & Sumilo, 2016). Deontologist believe that motivation to respect the moral laws makes it a duty  of the humans to follow these laws .Kant believed that if an act is of genuine moral value , it must be motivated by the purity of motivation which is achievable through a quasi-religious conversation as explained in the religion.

According to Kant, the principles of categorical imperatives, the actions of a human being are morally upright, if they are applied universally. Also, Kant advises not to use humans as merely means but as an end. So, according to him, euthanasia is a form of a suicide which is strictly prohibited. If a person is merely using himself as a means and is not regarding his own rationality, he is not acting according to his duty and his immoral. On the other hand, if he preserves his life without loving it and considers it as his duty to die, then his action is moral. It is based on the maxim that an individual should be allowed to end his life if he is under huge suffering which cannot be cured.

Thus, to conclude, it can be said that Kantian Theory is an example of deontological ethics. According to this theory, the rightness and wrongness of the action is not dependent upon its results but on that the condition that whether the duty is fulfilled or not.  Also, he believed that there is a supreme rule of morality and it is referred to as The Categorical Imperative. They explain the moral duties of individuals. The Categorical Imperative issues the command unconditionally.

References

Doody, R. (2014). Kantian Ethics: the categorical imperative. Retrieved April 3^rd, 2018.

Harvard University (2017) .Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? Retrieved April 3^rd, 2018.

Kompanje, E.J.O. & Groot, Y.D.(2015).Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative and the brain-dead patient. Intensive Care Med, 2015. Retrieved April 3^rd, 2018.

Mc Carty, R. (2015). The Categorical Imperative. Retrieved March 29^th, 2018.

Thomas, A.J. (2015). Deontology, Consequentialism and Moral Realism. Minerva – An Open Access Journal of Philosophy, 19(2015),1-24.

Turner, C. (2016). Kant’s Categorical Imperative and Mandatory Minimum Sentencing. Washington University Jurisprudence Review, 8(2), 235-262.

Vitolina, I.B., Calsa, I. & Sumilo, E.(2016). Is Ethics Rational? Teleological, Deontological and Virtue Ethics Theories Reconciled in the Context of Traditional Economic Decision Making. Procedia Economics and Finance, 39(2016), 108 – 114.