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Kant’s Deontological Ethics. The Plan  What is Deontology?  Good Wills and Right Actions  The Categorical Imperative  Examples and Applications.

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Presentation on theme: "Kant’s Deontological Ethics. The Plan  What is Deontology?  Good Wills and Right Actions  The Categorical Imperative  Examples and Applications."— Presentation transcript:

1 Kant’s Deontological Ethics

2 The Plan  What is Deontology?  Good Wills and Right Actions  The Categorical Imperative  Examples and Applications

3 What is “Deontology”?  Deontology: The duty-based approach to morality. The morally right thing to do is whatever it is your duty to do. Consequences are irrelevant.  Compare these attitudes: “Let justice be done though the heavens may fall.” “The ends justify the means.” “All’s well that ends well.”

4 Good Wills and Right Actions  Kant thinks actions can be wrong in two ways. They can be the wrong thing to do. They can be done for the wrong reason.  Three Cases Skeletor tortures Man-E-Faces. He-Man rescues Man-E-Faces so people will like him. He-Man rescues Man-E-Faces because it is right.

5 When is it Moral?  According to Kant, what I do is moral if and only if It is the right thing to do, and I do it because it is right.

6 But What is the Right Thing to Do?  The Categorical Imperative Formula of the Universal Law  Act only that maxim that you can at the same time will to be a universal law. Formula of the End in Itself  Act always so that you treat humanity, both in yourself and in others, always as an end and never as a means only.

7 Formula of the Universal Law  Whatever it is right for me to do is my duty.  But morality is the same for everyone.  So, whatever it is right for me to do is the same as what it would be right for anyone to do.  So, I should always act in a way that I could will everyone to act. I shouldn’t make a moral exception for myself. The Golden Rule?

8 Examples: The Formula of the Universal Law  Making a Promise You Intend to Break  Cultivating Your Talents  Cheating Your Customers  Killing Your Enemies

9 The Formula of the End in Itself  Only rational beings have value in themselves; everything else is valuable only for their sake.  This value demands respect; we should always acknowledge the value of rational beings as sources of value.  Treating someone “merely as a means” fails to acknowledge their value as a source of value.  So, we should always treat people as ends, never as means only.

10 Examples  Making a Promise You Intend to Break  Cheating on Your Income Tax  Cultivating Your Talents  Cashing a Check at the Bank

11 Review  Kant is a deontologist. He thinks duty is the central concept of morality.  Kant believes a person acts morally when she does the right thing because it is right.  According to Kant, the Categorical Imperative tells us the difference between right and wrong. Formula of the Universal Law Formula of the End in Itself


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