The Categorical Imperative Kantian Ethics

Learning Intentions and Outcomes You will: Investigate the three formulations of the Categorical Imperative in some detail Consider the role of reason in moral decision making You will be able to: State the three formulations Explain the role of reason in moral decision making Explain how the categorical imperative helps us to identify what our moral duty is

A tool to identify duty Kant said that moral actions should be performed from duty not inclination This means that when we act in accordance with the moral law we do so because of duty Doing something good or right because it is in your nature to do so is not acting from duty and so is not worthy of any moral praise Duty demands that we do something simply because we know that it is the right thing to do The ‘honest shopkeeper’ who acts from duty is worthy of praise, unlike the honest shopkeeper who does so out consideration of his customers

Reason Kant believed that humans are unique because they possess the ability to reason This ability makes us distinct from other animals We don’t simply act on impulse We know the difference between right and wrong Moral knowledge is therefore a priori knowledge according to Kant (knowledge prior to experience We are autonomous free thinking beings The categorical imperative demands the application of reason

How do I know what my duty is? The categorical imperative is the test that Kant gives us to enable us to identify our moral duty With the application of reason we can work out what to do in a moral situation Imagine you have to choose between telling the truth or telling a lie The categorical imperative will tell you what to do Kant set it out in The Groundwork on the Metaphysics of Morals

Formulation 1: Act only on a maxim that you would will to be a universal law Maxims are principles of action Maxims are rules that individuals follow Kant said that you must only act on a maxim if you can make it a universal law This means that it must be able to be applicable to everyone who finds themselves in the same or a similar situation Can you will that the maxim “always lie when it suits you” could be applied by everyone?

Contradiction If you made this maxim a universal law it would have to be applied to everyone You would always lie when it suited you but so would everyone else How would you know if someone was telling the truth? You wouldn’t!! No one would believe anyone and there would be no trust between anyone No one would want to live in a world like this so this maxim could not be universalised Therefore you can only universalise a maxim that you would be willing to have applied to everyone including yourself

2 nd Formulation: “Never use yourself or anyone else simply as a means to an end but as ends in themselves” Kant believed that people possessed intrinsic value This means that they have value in themselves This is in contrast to instrumental value where they only have value in as much as they are of use to us What we will for others we will for ourselves also If we believe that it is ok to use people for our own benefit and not theirs we believe that it is ok for them to do this to us We must treat people with intrinsic value as that is what we would want for ourselves We must treat them with dignity or as ends because of their intrinsic worth

Formulation 3: The Kingdom of Ends The Third formulation of the CI states that we must be willing to act as if we were a lawmaking member of a kingdom of ends This gives the CI a social or community dimension We must be willing to act in such a way that the maxims that we follow will benefit everyone It would be irrational for us to make rules which use people as means to an end because we would be applying it to ourselves

Answer all the following questions 1.Explain the difference between duty and inclination. 2.Give 2 examples of a maxim. 3.Explain what Kant means by saying that moral maxims must be universalisable. 4.How does Kant apply reason, what is the role of reason in moral deliberations? 5.Explain with examples what it means to use someone as a means to an end.

More Difficult Questions 1.Explain the difference between a hypothetical and categorical imperative.

The Sheriff’s Dilemma It is 1873 in the wild west of America. The sheriff of a small remote town has arrested a man suspected of murdering a child. A mob gathers outside the courthouse threatening to break in and lynch the suspect. If they don’t get their way they will riot and many people will be killed including the sheriff and his deputies. The sheriff ponders what to do as the first gunshot shatters the courthouse window. What advice would a Kantian give to the sheriff? 18 marks