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Kant's Ethics Kant's ethics Quick reminder About Kant Goods Kant's ethics Hypothetical and categorical imperatives Using the CI Objections Thursday, April 23, 2009 Quick reminder Kant's ethics Quick reminder About Kant Goods Hypothetical and Papers are due tomorrow! categorical imperatives Using the CI Objections Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) Kant's ethics Quick reminder About Kant K¨onigsburg,Prussia Goods Hypothetical (now Kaliningrad, Russia) and categorical Enlightenment philosophy imperatives Using the CI Grundlagen der Objections Metaphysik der Sitten Groundwork for the metaphysics of morals Talents and temperament Ex: Intelligence, courage Subjective states and feelings Ex: Happiness, pleasure Choice and reasons for action Ex: hPay your taxes before they're due to avoid going to jail.i Also called rules, principles, intentions, maxims, and imperatives Three kinds of goods Kant's ethics Goods Quick reminder Things with at least some (positive) moral significance or value About Kant Goods Analysis of goods Anti- consequentialism Hypothetical and categorical imperatives Using the CI Objections Subjective states and feelings Ex: Happiness, pleasure Choice and reasons for action Ex: hPay your taxes before they're due to avoid going to jail.i Also called rules, principles, intentions, maxims, and imperatives Three kinds of goods Kant's ethics Goods Quick reminder Things with at least some (positive) moral significance or value About Kant Goods Analysis of goods Anti- Talents and temperament Ex: Intelligence, courage consequentialism Hypothetical and categorical imperatives Using the CI Objections Choice and reasons for action Ex: hPay your taxes before they're due to avoid going to jail.i Also called rules, principles, intentions, maxims, and imperatives Three kinds of goods Kant's ethics Goods Quick reminder Things with at least some (positive) moral significance or value About Kant Goods Analysis of goods Anti- Talents and temperament Ex: Intelligence, courage consequentialism Hypothetical Subjective states and feelings Ex: Happiness, pleasure and categorical imperatives Using the CI Objections Three kinds of goods Kant's ethics Goods Quick reminder Things with at least some (positive) moral significance or value About Kant Goods Analysis of goods Anti- Talents and temperament Ex: Intelligence, courage consequentialism Hypothetical Subjective states and feelings Ex: Happiness, pleasure and categorical Choice and reasons for action imperatives Using the CI Ex: hPay your taxes before they're due to avoid Objections going to jail.i Also called rules, principles, intentions, maxims, and imperatives Kant's question Of the three kinds of goods, which can be unconditionally good? Conditional and unconditional goods Kant's ethics Quick Conditional goods Goods whose value depends on something reminder else About Kant Goods (Kind of like: contingently good) Analysis of goods Unconditional goods Goods whose value doesn't depend on Anti- consequentialism anything else Hypothetical and (Kind of like: necessarily good) categorical imperatives Using the CI Objections Conditional and unconditional goods Kant's ethics Quick Conditional goods Goods whose value depends on something reminder else About Kant Goods (Kind of like: contingently good) Analysis of goods Unconditional goods Goods whose value doesn't depend on Anti- consequentialism anything else Hypothetical and (Kind of like: necessarily good) categorical imperatives Using the CI Kant's question Objections Of the three kinds of goods, which can be unconditionally good? Which goods are unconditionally good? Kant's ethics Quick reminder About Kant Goods Analysis of Talents? goods Anti- consequentialism Subjective states? Hypothetical and Reasons for action? categorical imperatives Using the CI Objections Which goods are unconditionally good? Kant's ethics Quick reminder About Kant Goods Talents? No; talents can be put to bad purposes. Analysis of goods Anti- Ex: an evil genius. consequentialism Hypothetical Subjective states? and categorical Reasons for action? imperatives Using the CI Objections Which goods are unconditionally good? Kant's ethics Quick reminder About Kant Goods Talents? No; talents can be put to bad purposes. Analysis of goods Ex: an evil genius. Anti- consequentialism Subjective states? No; pleasure can come from bad actions. Hypothetical and Ex: stealing candy from babies. categorical imperatives Reasons for action? Using the CI Objections Which goods are unconditionally good? Kant's ethics Quick reminder Talents? No; talents can be put to bad purposes. About Kant Ex: an evil genius. Goods Analysis of goods Subjective states? No; pleasure can come from bad actions. Anti- consequentialism Ex: stealing candy from babies. Hypothetical and Reasons for action? This is the only option left, so at least categorical imperatives some reasons for action must be Using the CI unconditionally good. Objections Important: Kant makes several assumptions here! Kant's anti-consequentialism Kant's ethics Consequentialist: The only good things are the consequences Quick reminder of our actions, such as pleasureable feelings. About Kant Kant: The consequences are only conditionally Goods Analysis of good. The only unconditionally good things goods Anti- are our reasons for action. consequentialism Hypothetical and categorical imperatives Reason Action+3 +3Consequences Using the CI Objections Categorical hIn circumstances C, always do action A.i Two kinds of reasons for action Kant's ethics Hypothetical hIn circumstances C, do action A for the sake of Quick reminder goal G.i About Kant Goods Hypothetical and categorical hPay your taxes before they're due to avoid imperatives Analysis of getting audited.i reasons The categorical Action Pay your taxes imperative Using the CI Circumstances Before they're due Objections Goal Avoid getting audited Important: Only applies if you accept the goal! Two kinds of reasons for action Kant's ethics Hypothetical hIn circumstances C, do action A for the sake of Quick reminder goal G.i About Kant hPay your taxes before they're due to avoid Goods getting audited.i Hypothetical Categorical hIn circumstances C, always do action A.i and categorical imperatives Analysis of reasons The categorical hPay your taxes before they're due.i imperative Using the CI Action Pay your taxes Objections Circumstances Before they're due Important: Doesn't depend on whether you accept a goal! Two kinds of reasons for action Kant's ethics Hypothetical hIn circumstances C, do action A for the sake of Quick reminder goal G.i About Kant hPay your taxes before they're due to avoid Goods getting audited.i Hypothetical and Categorical hIn circumstances C, always do action A.i categorical hPay your taxes before they're due.i imperatives Analysis of reasons The categorical imperative Significance of categorical imperatives Using the CI Only categorical imperatives are not done for the sake of some Objections other goal G. Hence, only categorical imperatives can be unconditionally good reasons for action. Kant's search for unconditional goods Kant's ethics Quick Reasons +3 Action +3 Consequences reminder Ð ÐÐ About Kant ÐÐ ÐÐ Goods ÐÐ Subjective ÐÐ Talents Hypothetical ÐÐ states and ÐÐ categorical ÐÐ imperatives ÐÐ Analysis of Ð reasons Hypothetical Categorical The categorical × × imperative imperatives imperatives Using the CI Objections Unconditional × goods! Are there any real categorical imperatives? Kant's ethics Quick reminder About Kant Goods Hypothetical The categorical imperative and categorical Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same imperatives Analysis of time will that it should become a universal law. reasons The categorical imperative Using the CI Objections Are there any real categorical imperatives? Kant's ethics Quick reminder About Kant The categorical imperative Goods Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same Hypothetical time will that it should become a universal law. and categorical imperatives Analysis of The categorical imperative (One interpretation) reasons The categorical imperative Act only according to reasons that all rational beings would Using the CI freely accept. Objections Not clearly related to the categorical imperative as Kant stated it Misses some aspects that were important to Kant Are there any real categorical imperatives? Kant's ethics The categorical imperative Quick Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same reminder About Kant time will that it should become a universal law. Goods Hypothetical The categorical imperative (One interpretation) and categorical Act only according to reasons that all rational beings would imperatives Analysis of freely accept. reasons The categorical imperative Using the CI Relatively easy to state, Objections understand, and remember Captures some of the most relevant aspects of Kant's ethics for us today Are there any real categorical imperatives? Kant's ethics The categorical imperative Quick Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same reminder About Kant time will that it should become a universal law. Goods Hypothetical The categorical imperative (One interpretation) and categorical Act only according to reasons that all rational beings would imperatives Analysis of freely accept. reasons The categorical imperative Using the CI Relatively easy to state, Not clearly related to the Objections understand, and remember categorical imperative as Captures some of the Kant stated it most relevant aspects of Misses some aspects that Kant's ethics for us today were
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