KANT S CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE: AN ASSESSMENT OF CAPITALISM (ROUGH DRAFT) Ben Ricciardi IB Extended Essay May ,944 words ABSTRACT
|
|
- Caroline Chapman
- 6 years ago
- Views:
Transcription
1 KANT S CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE: AN ASSESSMENT OF CAPITALISM (ROUGH DRAFT) Ben Ricciardi IB Extended Essay May ,944 words ABSTRACT The first question which seems applicable to apply to any action is its morality. Yet, when it comes to their economic system, humans pass through the motions on the basis of a set of principles and maxims seen only in terms of that system. Rarely are these maxims, or the composite set of them in the system, judged in terms of morality. Perhaps this is because few people have yet even attempted to create a paradigm capable of judging it. However, a perfectly adequate paradigm has been around for quite some time now: Kantian ethics. Kantian ethics, based on the Categorical Imperative, provides a fluid and adaptable model through which to judge the morality of any practise. When applied to the practises of capitalism, such judgments raise significant doubts as to the morality of the system, despite Kant s personal feelings. The application of core elements of Kantian ethics, such as various formulations of the categorical imperative, social duty, and the good will itself; are applied to core elements of capitalism, such as the basic motives underlying all capitalist maxims of action, the invisible hand theory, and distribution of wealth. Primary and secondary sources are used to help understand Kant s often seeminglyobtuse theory, and heavy analysis is used to link and evaluate it in terms of capitalism. Conclusions display an intentional definitiveness and position. The essay attempts to find definitively the moral status of capitalism in the Kantian system, and contrasts with feudalism and communism. Kantian Morality and Capitalism
2 Philosophers have sought only to understand the world. The point, however, is to change it. Karl Marx Of the many great, difficult, and perennial questions with which philosophers have struggled, the most relevant to the lives of human beings is that of right and wrong. Throughout most of history, people have relied on instincts, tradition, or the religious establishment to answer it. A man named Immaneul Kant attempted to take from the potpourri of the popular system of morality and derive from it a common, universal moral principle. After much analysis, he arrived at that principle: I should never act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal law... The ordinary reason of mankind in its practical judgments agrees completely with this, and always has in view the aforementioned principle (Grounding 14). This is the famous categorical imperative, the principle of law from which all of Kant s other aspects of ethical philosophy follow. The imperative is categorical as opposed to hypothetical because it proscribes the correct course of action regardless of the desirability of the outcome (Ellington viii). (The categorical imperative itself follows as a way of defining actions in accordance with a good will, which Kant defines as the only thing that is good without limit or qualification (Grounding 7). The nature of the good will will be explained further later.) This categorical imperative, for all its simplicity, is capable of being formulated in a number of different ways. Noted Kantian scholar J. Paton lists five in his The Categorical Imperative. The Formula of Universal Law -- Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. The Formula of the Law of Nature -- Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a universal law of nature. The Formula of the End in Itself So act as to use humanity, both in your own person and in the person of every other, always at the same time as an end, never simply as a means. The Formula of Autonomy So act that your will can regard itself at the same time as making universal law through its maxim. The Formula of the Kingdom of Ends So act as if you were always through your maxims a law-making member in a universal kingdom of ends.
3 Although Kantian ethics is essentially deontological (concerned with means rather than ends), Kant did recognise that there were two ends that are also duties: They are one s own [moral] perfection and the happiness of others (Metaphysics 150). (Hereafter the second shall be referred to as social duty. ) These are the ends to which one s actions should look toward assuming, of course, that the maxims behind them meet the moral test of the categorical imperative. This ethical system, remarkable for its simple and universal nature, forms an excellent moral paradigm through which to view the economic system of capitalism. No aspect of modern life in the United States or Western Europe is left untouched by the market. It exists wherever money changes hands, whenever anyone goes to work, whenever anything is bought and sold. People engage in actions every day evaluated on no level as personal acts, but rather as part of a broader system. When so much of the behaviour of men is determined on the sole basis of the accepted conventions of a system, it is high time for that system itself to become the subject of ethical analysis. When the tool of that analysis is Kantian morality, such analysis raises significant doubts as to the morality of the system, despite Kant s personal feelings. Kant himself was a supporter of the property relations whose inevitable result is capitalism that is, the private and freely exchangeable ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange most notably, land on the basis of economic self-interest. This was distinguished from the feudalism from which Kant saw Europe emerging since the latter had land tenured in a more-or-less permanent fashion under a hereditary aristocracy, with serfs often being tied to the land and in any case not in a position to own productive property. This was a system further characterised by the absence of any real distinction between ownership and government; the lord possessed both over his fief. Kant (rightly) saw this system as inherently unjust, and greeted gladly this new world where, as the expression has it, people are free as far as capital is free. Given this opinion, the question of the Kantian morality of capitalism would seem to have been readily answered. Kant has spoken on the subject. However, it does not necessarily follow that the broad and powerful moral principles espoused by Kant must be applied in the way that he himself applied them. To draw an analogy, many philosophers would accept Descartes s claim that the proof of existence is thought, but not all of them would draw the same conclusions as he did from that initial axiom. There
4 is, indeed, even significant precedent for arguing that Kantian morality implies a world very different from one governed by market principles. There have been Neo-Kantian socialists and Kantian socialist analyses published previously, including one of the sources of the current analysis, Kantian Ethics and Socialism. Nevertheless, despite the existence of precedent, it is necessary to justify why Kant may have been mistaken in applying his own principles. Firstly, there is the question the historical context in which he embraced the emergence of what Marx called the bourgeois conception of property.... [T]he appropriation and control of landed property symbolized emancipation from serfdom and the guarantee of personal freedom and dignity. It was against this historical background that Kant held there is a integral relationship between the possession of landed property and the exercise of that free choice which is necessary if morality is to flourish (Introduction xiii). Kant had no idea that capitalism would in fact turn out to be a system in which free choice was also greatly restricted, though to a much lesser degree than feudalism. Secondly is the limitation of Kant s economic background. Though he had access to the work Adam Smith, he did not have access to that of Karl Marx. Thus, his view of the workings of the market is necessarily one-sided. Thirdly, Kant s theory of property does not take into account the final, collective ends of mass capitalist economic activity and the maxims of economic action that grow out of private ownership of capital. Indeed, what Kant perceived as morally right, both in terms of the categorical imperative and in terms of social duty, is often incompatible with capitalist property relations. Since Kant recognised that all landed property is characterised by an innate possession in common, reciprocal recognition of property rights is only mandated under the categorical imperative under the assumption that such recognition creates an environment necessary for moral behaviour (Metaphysics 38). As will be shown, this environment, capitalism, is in may respects just the opposite. Therefore, there is no properly Kantian basis for this recognition of property rights. This is not, however, to say, that there is no basis for the reciprocal recognition of anything possession of non-productive property is a concept that transcends economic systems. Even Marx and Engels in their famous call for the abolition of private property as such, commented of... the property of the petty artisan and of the small peasant, a form of property that preceded the bourgeois form... [that] [t]here is no need abolish that; the development of industry has to a large extent already destroyed it, and is still destroying it daily (Manifesto 34). Indeed, if Marx and Engels
5 are correct, capitalism tends to destroy the personal property rights which certainly are indispensable to freedom in a world of limited supply. The next question that concerns the analysis is that of which formulation to use when judging capitalism. The answer depends on which particular aspect or situation is under investigation at a given point. The Formula of the Universal Law is the one most generally applicable. That of the Law of Nature makes the most sense when looking at humanity s place in nature and capitalism s effect thereon. The Formula of the End in itself is indispensable for judging the effects on individuals of various economic relationships. The Formula of Autonomy, while distinct of that of Universal Law in some important senses, is in this analysis largely superfluous. Lastly, the Formula of the Kingdom of Ends is most important in determining the overall effect of the market economy on human society. Once it has been determined which formula with which to analyse maxims, the problem becomes one of determining what the maxims of action in a capitalist economy are. To understand that, it is necessary to understand what a maxim is. [ Maxim ] may be defined as a subjective principle of action.... A principle is in general a universal proposition which has under it other propositions of which it is the ground... (Paton 51). Kant looked at actions and their maxims from a personal, rather than an economic, level. For example, he held that the repayment of loans was a general principle to be followed under the categorical imperative, as was mutual reciprocation of ownership. In an attempt to establish a moral economic theory, however, one must analyse maxims with respect to the economic means and ends, as well as with respect to the effects of their universalisation (as mandated by the categorical imperative). The first analysis will be discussed below. The second means that in order for a maxim behind an economic action to be moral, one must be willing to accept as positive (or at least not harmful) the ends achieved by simultaneous, substantively identical action on the part of the entire economic community. Thus, the relevant laws of economic tendency that result from such action on common (and thus at least partially universalised) principles are applicable. When one looks at maxims of action from an economic sense in capitalism, the good will that is the fundamental characteristic of all moral maxims seems conspicuously absent. A good will conforms to the moral law the categorical
6 imperative, and, so far as consistent with that, active and passive duties. A good person, therefore, acts on maxims not only universalisable (analysed below), but also towards ends consistent with duty. The applicable duty here is the social duty to seek the happiness of others. Economic actions in capitalism operate on the basis of self-interest without regard to the welfare of others, something admitted even in Smith s aphorism in support of capitalism that private ambition furthers public welfare. Regardless of consequence, the motives of actors in capitalism are undeniably based on self-interest, and are therefore contrary to social duty. There are several arguments that may be levelled against this reasoning. The first is the aphorism stated above itself, as well as the theory behind it the invisible hand theory. It may be argued that the actual maxim of action in capitalism is one of private ambition and the furtherance of public welfare on the basis that the former leads to the latter. This argument is, however, circular. If one acts to further public welfare through an act (on whatever basis), then it is an act made on that maxim and to that end, not one of private ambition. If, on the other hand, it is made of private ambition, it cannot be made simultaneously for the purpose of public welfare without losing its character. The two qualities are simply mutually exclusive. It makes no difference if public welfare is furthered (and the end of social welfare achieved) if the maxim behind the action is itself immoral. Further, there are elements of capitalism which are themselves quite contrary to the maximisation of the general happiness of others that is, private ambition does not necessarily equal public welfare. Most notable of these elements is the massively unequal distribution of wealth. Rather, it is one s duty to pursue an equal distribution of wealth as that distribution best suited to increasing the general happiness of others. The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility states that [a]s a consumer increases the consumption of a good or service, the Marginal utility... obtained from each additional unit of the good or service decreases (Brue G-16). This is the principle that holds that eating multiple bars of chocolate within the course of an hour will yield a person successively less and less enjoyment for each one, until he actually becomes ill and gains negative enjoyment. This enjoyment is called utility. On a broader economic scale, it is the principle that states the obvious: a person s tenth car will grant him less utility than his first. A person with no means of transportation benefits greatly from acquiring an automobile; for a person with nine already, it makes much less of a difference. Without any great difficulty, this same principle may be applied to wealth
7 in general. While excess money is unlikely to make on ill and wealth is certainly not a more or less polarised issue as transportation is (either one has it or he does not), there is still the issue of finite time and space. A person can only drive one car at once, live in one house, be in one room, wear one pair of clothes, et cetera. It is plain to see that it is a fundamental property of wealth that, the less one has of it, the greater utility it has on average. Thus, if one of the great duties of man is the happiness of others, perpetuating a system that consistently works against that aim hardly seems moral and capitalism does consistently work against it. The maldistribution of wealth is maintained by at least two basic laws of market tendency. The first of these is the Iron, or Brazen, Law of Wages. Labour is a commodity like any other and its price is therefore determined by exactly the same laws that apply to other commodities. In a regime of large-scale industry or of free competition... the price of a commodity is on the average always equal to the costs of production. Hence the price of labour is also equal to the costs of production of labour. But the costs of production consist of precisely the quantity of means of subsistence necessary to keep the worker fit for work and to prevent the working class from dying out. The worker will therefore get no more for his labour than is necessary for this purpose; the price of labour or the wage will therefore be the lowest, the minimum, required for the maintenance of life. However, since business is sometimes worse and some times better, the worker receives sometimes more and some times less, just as the factory owner sometimes gets more and sometimes less for his commodities. But just as the factory owner, on the average of good times and bad, gets no more and no less for his commodities than their costs of production, so the worker will, on the average, get no more and no less than this minimum (Principles). As the compensation for labourers is determined on the basis of market-value and only is sufficient to keep the proletariat as a whole sufficient to its labour, there is no basis for equitable distribution of wealth. The General Law of Capitalist Accumulation states that this is essentially a permanent relationship, and that thereby those who have control of forms of production, distribution and exchange (bourgeois) will continuously become more and more wealthy in comparison to those whose labour they purchase (proletarians). [It]... states that the very nature of accumulation excludes every diminution in the degree of the exploitation of the labourer, and every rise in the price of labour, which could seriously imperil the continual reproduction, on an ever-enlarging
8 scale, of the capitalistic relation (Capital). So it has finally been proven that in at least one prominent aspect of capitalism, the world it creates is incompatible with Kantian social duty. Smith s theory Invisible Hand is not only irrelevant but incorrect. This is not, however, the only argument against the contention of the immorality of capitalist motives that begs refutation. Another is that one need not, even in capitalism, totally ignore the effects of actions on the happiness of others. One need not be totally selfish; one can be a caring capitalist after the manner of Ben and Jerry s. What proponents of this idea fail to realise is that any such actions are either extraeconomic (id est, charitable or friendly), or else they are actually contrary to the nature of capitalism itself. In either case, they are not properly capitalist actions and motives at all, and are thus of no relevance in an analysis of the morality of the maxims of capitalism. Lastly, there is the point that Kant himself did see promoting one s own happiness as an imperfect or indirect duty. Since one has a perfect duty to seek one s own moral perfection, it is desirable to keep oneself in a mind-set in which one is most likely to be able to remain doing so unhappy people are more tempted to be immoral (Paton 86). However, seeking the happiness of others is a perfect duty and thus easily overrides the imperfect duty towards the happiness of oneself. Also, there is the circular nature of an argument that contends (as this one does) that it is a moral to commit an act which would itself otherwise be a moral towards the end of one s own moral perfection! After hashing out the question of whether the will that powers actions in a market economy can be considered good, it becomes apparent that, far from being moral, the motivating will behind capitalistic acts is in many respects the antithesis of moral, and that the world it tends to create is the antithesis of that humans are directed to work towards by their social duty. Now that it has been shown that the capitalist will is evil and that capitalist maxims result in increasingly negative ends the closer they are made towards universal law, attention may be turned to the other formulations of the categorical imperative, beginning the with the Formula of the End in Itself. Capitalism, with the nature of its relations between people, tends to allow people to be in many cases treated exclusively as means. Every time we post a letter, we use post-office officials as a means, but we do not use them simply as a means. What we expect of them we believe to be in accordance with their own will, and indeed to be in accordance with their duty (Paton 165). The
9 shareholder in a company is concerned exclusively with the effects of employees on the price of his stock, for whatever reason. An employer is concerned only with his bottom line, and would use his employees for their labour regardless of their own wills or duties, unlike the example of the postman above. This can be said without equivocation on the basis of the most basic principle of capitalism stated earlier: private ambition furthers public gain. Motives which are not purely self-interested are not capitalistic. It will always be in the interests of those who are exploiting others to use them as means, but certainly not always as ends as well. Next, there is the question of the market economy s compatibility with the Formula of the Kingdom of Nature. It should be obvious to anyone who has perceived the devastating impact corporate America, Canada, and Europe have made on the natural world that the maxims of the actions that created them could not themselves become laws of nature without destroying them. Business decisions regarding given actions are made on the basis of marginal costs and benefits if the latter outweigh the former, the action is taken. That is the maxim of their action. Since environmental damage is a cost shared by all in most cases, while the benefits are immediately and privately attainable by the capitalist, nature is frequently the victim. Because of this, capitalism as a whole is inherently pollutant, without regard to natural balance or harmony. (Government regulations, while perhaps desirable even to capitalist economists, are again elements outside of the economic system properly they are interferences in the market economy, not parts of it.) Were the maxims of capitalist economic action universal laws of nature, the earth would have destroyed itself long ago. Finally, does capitalism facilitate or permit the Kingdom of Ends? The Kingdom of Ends is... a world where, as a result of moral action, the ends of all free agents are realised (so far as they are compatible with freedom under universal law), and where in consequence happiness is proportionate to virtue (Paton 186). The only answer can be one firmly negative. As has been repeatedly demonstrated above, the maxims of capitalism are far from those which are moral a system based on immoral maxims can hardly simultaneously be one that is a result of moral action. Capitalism is a system based on constant competition and scramble among mutually exclusive goals; the Kingdom of Ends requires all those of free agents to be realised. The Kingdom of Ends has happiness in proportion to virtue; in a market economy, a person virtuous under
10 Kantian law is banned from even the most basic of capitalist principles not something likely to lead to happiness. People are indeed free as far as capital is free, and only that far. Private ownership of productive forces results in the stratification of social classes on the basis of material wealth, and thus their ability to act as free agents. Interestingly, however, Marx and Engels s conception of a new economic system based on the abolition of private property (a concept Kant personally thought essential to a moral world) seems eerily similar: an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the development of all (Manifesto 43). So, in Kantian terms, what is capitalism? Capitalism is a monumental mistake a mistake of history, of economics, and of morality. When Kant saw the liberation of productive of property from the iron yolk of the aristocracy, he believed that he was seeing the final liberation of people in their struggle to attain a moral freedom, subject to no law but their own universal ones. In reality, however, he was witnessing only one step in the long march towards a moral society, one that can only be attained in the absence, not simply the redefinition, of the ownership of productive property. The new relations which he saw coming up around him formed not only a new avenue through which to examine the ethics of personal behaviour, but also the foundation of an economic system whose moral implications also were in need of analysis. This is a task to which Immanuel Kant himself was not capable. It is, however, on this basis that future generations will be able to strive for a society in which the principles that allow people to live physically among each other may be as pure and good as those personal ones that Kant saw in the Kingdom of Ends. It is on this basis that they will be able to pick up from where Kant left off. He has given them a means through which to understand the world; now it is their turn to change it.
11 Annotated Bibliography of Works Cited Primary Sources: Kant, Immanuel. The Critique of Judgement. Trans. James Creed Meredith. New York: Oxford University Press, A lengthy work on the process of judgment and reason in general. Some material applicable to morality, but worked within a mass of difficult metaphysics.. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals with On a Supposed Right to Lie Because of Philanthropic Concerns. Trans. James W. Ellington. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, The work that first lays out the categorical imperative and establishes how a universal moral code may be extracted from reason.. The Metaphysics of Morals. Trans. and Ed. Mary Gregor. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, Expands on the groundwork laid by the above work and lays out sifferent elements of morality with the metaphysics behind them. Engels, Friedrich. Principles of Communism Apr < A pamphlet explaining many basics of Marxist social and economic theory. Engels, Friedrich and Karl Marx. Capital. 3 vols. Trans. Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling. Ed. Frederick Engels Mar <. The Communist Manifesto. Ed. Friedrich Engels. New York: Bantam Books, Where Capital lays bare the economic flaws of capitalism, the Manifesto summarises the ideas of the most coherent ideology against the market economy yet conceived. Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Mar < The groundbreaking book defining capitalism and explaining its operation.
12 Secondary Sources: Baron, Marcia. Kantian Ethics Almost Without Apology. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, A defence of Kantian ethics from criticism regarding their emphasis on duty. (It should be noted that the apology in the title is in the sense of seeking forgiveness, not defence.) Brue, Stanley and Campbell McConnell. Economics. 13th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., An introduction to the basic functions and study of market economics. Ellington, James. Introduction. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. By Immanuel Kant. Trans. James Ellington. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, v - xiii. An analysis and summary of the work it introduces. Van der Linden, Harry. Kantian Ethics and Socialism. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, An attempt to apply Kantian ethics to socialism and Marxist theories of history and society. Explores somewhat the apparent dichotomy between Kant s personal views of capitalism and his ethics. Paton, H. J. The Categorical Imperative. New York: Harper Torchbooks, A lengthy analysis of the categorical imperative and Kantian morality in general: its foundation, formulation, and justification. Sullivan, Roger. Immanuel Kant s Moral Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press, [A] synoptic and detailed exposition of Kant s entire practical theory.. Introduction. The Metaphysics of Morals. By Immanuel Kant. Trans. and Ed. Mary Gregor. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, Summarises and explains the work it precedes.
Chapter 3 PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS AND BUSINESS CHAPTER OBJECTIVES. After exploring this chapter, you will be able to:
Chapter 3 PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS AND BUSINESS MGT604 CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After exploring this chapter, you will be able to: 1. Explain the ethical framework of utilitarianism. 2. Describe how utilitarian
More informationTwo Kinds of Ends in Themselves in Kant s Moral Theory
Western University Scholarship@Western 2015 Undergraduate Awards The Undergraduate Awards 2015 Two Kinds of Ends in Themselves in Kant s Moral Theory David Hakim Western University, davidhakim266@gmail.com
More informationKANTIAN ETHICS (Dan Gaskill)
KANTIAN ETHICS (Dan Gaskill) German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was an opponent of utilitarianism. Basic Summary: Kant, unlike Mill, believed that certain types of actions (including murder,
More informationSummary of Kant s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
Summary of Kant s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals Version 1.1 Richard Baron 2 October 2016 1 Contents 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Availability and licence............ 3 2 Definitions of key terms 4 3
More informationFUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSIC OF MORALS. by Immanuel Kant
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSIC OF MORALS SECOND SECTION by Immanuel Kant TRANSITION FROM POPULAR MORAL PHILOSOPHY TO THE METAPHYSIC OF MORALS... This principle, that humanity and generally every
More informationSUMMARIES AND TEST QUESTIONS UNIT 6
SUMMARIES AND TEST QUESTIONS UNIT 6 Textbook: Louis P. Pojman, Editor. Philosophy: The quest for truth. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN-10: 0199697310; ISBN-13: 9780199697311 (6th Edition)
More informationMaking Decisions on Behalf of Others: Who or What Do I Select as a Guide? A Dilemma: - My boss. - The shareholders. - Other stakeholders
Making Decisions on Behalf of Others: Who or What Do I Select as a Guide? - My boss - The shareholders - Other stakeholders - Basic principles about conduct and its impacts - What is good for me - What
More informationPhilosophers in Jesuit Education Eastern APA Meetings, December 2011 Discussion Starter. Karen Stohr Georgetown University
Philosophers in Jesuit Education Eastern APA Meetings, December 2011 Discussion Starter Karen Stohr Georgetown University Ethics begins with the obvious fact that we are morally flawed creatures and that
More informationIn Kant s Conception of Humanity, Joshua Glasgow defends a traditional reading of
Glasgow s Conception of Kantian Humanity Richard Dean ABSTRACT: In Kant s Conception of Humanity, Joshua Glasgow defends a traditional reading of the humanity formulation of the Categorical Imperative.
More informationThe dangers of the sovereign being the judge of rationality
Thus no one can act against the sovereign s decisions without prejudicing his authority, but they can think and judge and consequently also speak without any restriction, provided they merely speak or
More informationA Review on What Is This Thing Called Ethics? by Christopher Bennett * ** 1
310 Book Review Book Review ISSN (Print) 1225-4924, ISSN (Online) 2508-3104 Catholic Theology and Thought, Vol. 79, July 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.21731/ctat.2017.79.310 A Review on What Is This Thing
More informationMill s Utilitarian Theory
Normative Ethics Mill s Utilitarian Theory John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism The Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they
More informationHoong Juan Ru. St Joseph s Institution International. Candidate Number Date: April 25, Theory of Knowledge Essay
Hoong Juan Ru St Joseph s Institution International Candidate Number 003400-0001 Date: April 25, 2014 Theory of Knowledge Essay Word Count: 1,595 words (excluding references) In the production of knowledge,
More informationCategorical Imperative by. Kant
Categorical Imperative by Dr. Desh Raj Sirswal Assistant Professor (Philosophy), P.G.Govt. College for Girls, Sector-11, Chandigarh http://drsirswal.webs.com Kant Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (1724 1804)
More informationSuppose... Kant. The Good Will. Kant Three Propositions
Suppose.... Kant You are a good swimmer and one day at the beach you notice someone who is drowning offshore. Consider the following three scenarios. Which one would Kant says exhibits a good will? Even
More information2.1.2: Brief Introduction to Marxism
Marxism is a theory based on the philosopher Karl Marx who was born in Germany in 1818 and died in London in 1883. Marxism is what is known as a theory because it states that society is in conflict with
More informationKant s Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
Kant s Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals G. J. Mattey Spring, 2017/ Philosophy 1 The Division of Philosophical Labor Kant generally endorses the ancient Greek division of philosophy into
More informationKant's Moral Philosophy
Kant's Moral Philosophy I. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (178.5)- Immanuel Kant A. Aims I. '7o seek out and establish the supreme principle of morality." a. To provide a rational basis for morality.
More informationUnifying the Categorical Imperative* Marcus Arvan University of Tampa
Unifying the Categorical Imperative* Marcus Arvan University of Tampa [T]he concept of freedom constitutes the keystone of the whole structure of a system of pure reason [and] this idea reveals itself
More informationTuesday, September 2, Idealism
Idealism Enlightenment Puzzle How do these fit into a scientific picture of the world? Norms Necessity Universality Mind Idealism The dominant 19th-century response: often today called anti-realism Everything
More informationKarl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Chapter 2. Proletarians and Communists
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels from The Communist Manifesto Chapter 2. Proletarians and Communists In what relation do the Communists stand to the proletarians as a whole? The Communists do not form a
More informationThe communist tendency in history
The communist tendency in history What are, in the different periods of the history of our species, the tendencies in human behaviour which have been in the direction of what we call communism? To answer
More informationKent Academic Repository
Kent Academic Repository Full text document (pdf) Citation for published version Milton, Damian (2007) Sociological theory: an introduction to Marxism. N/A. (Unpublished) DOI Link to record in KAR https://kar.kent.ac.uk/62740/
More informationKant. Deontological Ethics
Kant 1 Deontological Ethics An action's moral value is determined by the nature of the action itself and the agent's motive DE contrasts with Utilitarianism which says that the goal or consequences of
More informationDeontological Ethics. Kant. Rules for Kant. Right Action
Deontological Ethics Kant An action's moral value is determined by the nature of the action itself and the agent's motive DE contrasts with Utilitarianism which says that the goal or consequences of an
More informationLecture 12 Deontology. Onora O Neill A Simplified Account of Kant s Ethics
Lecture 12 Deontology Onora O Neill A Simplified Account of Kant s Ethics 1 Agenda 1. Immanuel Kant 2. Deontology 3. Hypothetical vs. Categorical Imperatives 4. Formula of the End in Itself 5. Maxims and
More informationThe civilising influence of capital
The civilising influence of capital The production of relative surplus value, i.e. production of surplus value based on the increase and development of the productive forces, requires the production of
More informationHappiness and Personal Growth: Dial.
TitleKant's Concept of Happiness: Within Author(s) Hirose, Yuzo Happiness and Personal Growth: Dial Citation Philosophy, Psychology, and Compara 43-49 Issue Date 2010-03-31 URL http://hdl.handle.net/2433/143022
More information2 FREE CHOICE The heretical thesis of Hobbes is the orthodox position today. So much is this the case that most of the contemporary literature
Introduction The philosophical controversy about free will and determinism is perennial. Like many perennial controversies, this one involves a tangle of distinct but closely related issues. Thus, the
More informationThe Need for Metanormativity: A Response to Christmas
The Need for Metanormativity: A Response to Christmas Douglas J. Den Uyl Liberty Fund, Inc. Douglas B. Rasmussen St. John s University We would like to begin by thanking Billy Christmas for his excellent
More informationKantianism: Objections and Replies Keith Burgess-Jackson 12 March 2017
Kantianism: Objections and Replies Keith Burgess-Jackson 12 March 2017 Kantianism (K): 1 For all acts x, x is right iff (i) the maxim of x is universalizable (i.e., the agent can will that the maxim of
More informationQ2) The test of an ethical argument lies in the fact that others need to be able to follow it and come to the same result.
QUIZ 1 ETHICAL ISSUES IN MEDIA, BUSINESS AND SOCIETY WHAT IS ETHICS? Business ethics deals with values, facts, and arguments. Q2) The test of an ethical argument lies in the fact that others need to be
More informationThe Middle Path: A Case for the Philosophical Theologian. Leo Strauss roots the vitality of Western civilization in the ongoing conflict between
Lee Anne Detzel PHI 8338 Revised: November 1, 2004 The Middle Path: A Case for the Philosophical Theologian Leo Strauss roots the vitality of Western civilization in the ongoing conflict between philosophy
More informationTo link to this article:
This article was downloaded by: [University of Chicago Library] On: 24 May 2013, At: 08:10 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office:
More informationON WRITING PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS: SOME GUIDELINES Richard G. Graziano
ON WRITING PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS: SOME GUIDELINES Richard G. Graziano The discipline of philosophy is practiced in two ways: by conversation and writing. In either case, it is extremely important that a
More informationAn Epistemological Assessment of Moral Worth in Kant s Moral Theory. Immanuel Kant s moral theory outlined in The Grounding for the Metaphysics of
An Epistemological Assessment of Moral Worth in Kant s Moral Theory Immanuel Kant s moral theory outlined in The Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals (hereafter Grounding) presents us with the metaphysical
More informationDeontology: Duty-Based Ethics IMMANUEL KANT
Deontology: Duty-Based Ethics IMMANUEL KANT A NOTE ON READING KANT Lord Macaulay once recorded in his diary a memorable attempt his first and apparently his last to read Kant s Critique: I received today
More informationDeontology, Rationality, and Agent-Centered Restrictions
Florida Philosophical Review Volume X, Issue 1, Summer 2010 75 Deontology, Rationality, and Agent-Centered Restrictions Brandon Hogan, University of Pittsburgh I. Introduction Deontological ethical theories
More informationThe Communist Manifesto
The Communist Manifesto Crofts Classics GENERAL EDITOR Samuel H. Beer, Harvard University KARL MARX and FRIEDRICH ENGELS The Communist Manifesto with selections from The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
More information24.02 Moral Problems and the Good Life
MIT OpenCourseWare http://ocw.mit.edu 24.02 Moral Problems and the Good Life Fall 2008 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use, visit: http://ocw.mit.edu/terms. Three Moral Theories
More informationTestimony and Moral Understanding Anthony T. Flood, Ph.D. Introduction
24 Testimony and Moral Understanding Anthony T. Flood, Ph.D. Abstract: In this paper, I address Linda Zagzebski s analysis of the relation between moral testimony and understanding arguing that Aquinas
More informationAn Immense, Reckless, Shameless, Conscienceless, Proud Crime Stirner s Demolition of the Sacred
An Immense, Reckless, Shameless, Conscienceless, Proud Crime Stirner s Demolition of the Sacred Wolfi Landstreicher Contents Stirner s Demolition of the Sacred............................. 3 2 Stirner
More informationIntroduction to Philosophy Philosophy 110W Fall 2013 Russell Marcus
Introduction to Philosophy Philosophy 110W Fall 2013 Russell Marcus Class 28 -Kantian Ethics Marcus, Introduction to Philosophy, Slide 1 The Good Will P It is impossible to conceive anything at all in
More informationA moral law for the jungle: a Kantian exploration in corporate environmental ethics
University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2005 A moral law for the jungle: a Kantian exploration in corporate
More informationThe Kant vs. Hume debate in Contemporary Ethics : A Different Perspective. Amy Wang Junior Paper Advisor : Hans Lottenbach due Wednesday,1/5/00
The Kant vs. Hume debate in Contemporary Ethics : A Different Perspective Amy Wang Junior Paper Advisor : Hans Lottenbach due Wednesday,1/5/00 0 The Kant vs. Hume debate in Contemporary Ethics : A Different
More informationLecture 6 Workable Ethical Theories I. Based on slides 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley
Lecture 6 Workable Ethical Theories I Participation Quiz Pick an answer between A E at random. What answer (A E) do you think will have been selected most frequently in the previous poll? Recap: Unworkable
More informationKant The Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals (excerpts) 1 PHIL101 Prof. Oakes. Section IV: What is it worth? Reading IV.2.
Kant The Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals (excerpts) 1 PHIL101 Prof. Oakes Section IV: What is it worth? Reading IV.2 Kant s analysis of the good differs in scope from Aristotle s in two ways. In
More informationIs the Existence of the Best Possible World Logically Impossible?
Is the Existence of the Best Possible World Logically Impossible? Anders Kraal ABSTRACT: Since the 1960s an increasing number of philosophers have endorsed the thesis that there can be no such thing as
More informationPhilosophy of Ethics Philosophy of Aesthetics. Ross Arnold, Summer 2014 Lakeside institute of Theology
Philosophy of Ethics Philosophy of Aesthetics Ross Arnold, Summer 2014 Lakeside institute of Theology Philosophical Theology 1 (TH5) Aug. 15 Intro to Philosophical Theology; Logic Aug. 22 Truth & Epistemology
More informationIntroduction to Philosophy Philosophy 110W Spring 2011 Russell Marcus
Introduction to Philosophy Philosophy 110W Spring 2011 Russell Marcus Class 26 - April 27 Kantian Ethics Marcus, Introduction to Philosophy, Slide 1 Mill s Defense of Utilitarianism P People desire happiness.
More informationCommon Morality: Deciding What to Do 1
Common Morality: Deciding What to Do 1 By Bernard Gert (1934-2011) [Page 15] Analogy between Morality and Grammar Common morality is complex, but it is less complex than the grammar of a language. Just
More informationSaving the Substratum: Interpreting Kant s First Analogy
Res Cogitans Volume 5 Issue 1 Article 20 6-4-2014 Saving the Substratum: Interpreting Kant s First Analogy Kevin Harriman Lewis & Clark College Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.pacificu.edu/rescogitans
More informationON THE INCOMPATIBILITY BETWEEN ARISTOTLE S AND KANT S IMPERATIVES TO TREAT A MAN NOT AS A MEANS BUT AS AN END-IN- HIMSELF
1 ON THE INCOMPATIBILITY BETWEEN ARISTOTLE S AND KANT S IMPERATIVES TO TREAT A MAN NOT AS A MEANS BUT AS AN END-IN- HIMSELF Extract pp. 88-94 from the dissertation by Irene Caesar Why we should not be
More informationCan Christianity be Reduced to Morality? Ted Di Maria, Philosophy, Gonzaga University Gonzaga Socratic Club, April 18, 2008
Can Christianity be Reduced to Morality? Ted Di Maria, Philosophy, Gonzaga University Gonzaga Socratic Club, April 18, 2008 As one of the world s great religions, Christianity has been one of the supreme
More information(Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), 1965, n.26)
At the centre of all Catholic social teaching are the transcendence of God and the dignity of the human person. The human person is the clearest reflection of God's presence in the world; all of the Church's
More informationimply constrained maximization. are realistic assumptions. are assumptions that may yield testable implications. A and C above.
S.6 Economics Methodology 92 6. Selfishness and scarcity imply constrained maximization. are realistic assumptions. are assumptions that may yield testable implications. and above. 94 29. Which of the
More informationIs Morality Rational?
PHILOSOPHY 431 Is Morality Rational? Topic #3 Betsy Spring 2010 Kant claims that violations of the categorical imperative are irrational acts. This paper discusses that claim. Page 2 of 6 In Groundwork
More informationThe Rightness Error: An Evaluation of Normative Ethics in the Absence of Moral Realism
An Evaluation of Normative Ethics in the Absence of Moral Realism Mathais Sarrazin J.L. Mackie s Error Theory postulates that all normative claims are false. It does this based upon his denial of moral
More informationR. M. Hare (1919 ) SINNOTT- ARMSTRONG. Definition of moral judgments. Prescriptivism
25 R. M. Hare (1919 ) WALTER SINNOTT- ARMSTRONG Richard Mervyn Hare has written on a wide variety of topics, from Plato to the philosophy of language, religion, and education, as well as on applied ethics,
More informationWhat one needs to know to prepare for'spinoza's method is to be found in the treatise, On the Improvement
SPINOZA'S METHOD Donald Mangum The primary aim of this paper will be to provide the reader of Spinoza with a certain approach to the Ethics. The approach is designed to prevent what I believe to be certain
More informationRawls s veil of ignorance excludes all knowledge of likelihoods regarding the social
Rawls s veil of ignorance excludes all knowledge of likelihoods regarding the social position one ends up occupying, while John Harsanyi s version of the veil tells contractors that they are equally likely
More information(naturalistic fallacy)
1 2 19 general questions about the nature of morality and about the meaning of moral concepts determining what the ethical principles of guiding the actions (truth and opinion) the metaphysical question
More informationAltruism. A selfless concern for other people purely for their own sake. Altruism is usually contrasted with selfishness or egoism in ethics.
GLOSSARY OF ETHIC TERMS Absolutism. The belief that there is one and only one truth; those who espouse absolutism usually also believe that they know what this absolute truth is. In ethics, absolutism
More informationPeter Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality
Peter Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality As I write this, in November 1971, people are dying in East Bengal from lack of food, shelter, and medical care. The suffering and death that are occurring
More informationThe Role of Sympathy in Kant s Philosophy of Moral Education
261 The Role of Sympathy in Kant s Philosophy of Moral Education Michael B. Mathias University of Rochester Immanuel Kant argues in the Doctrine of Virtue in the Metaphysics of Morals that To be beneficent,
More informationThe Role of Love in the Thought of Kant and Kierkegaard
Philosophy of Religion The Role of Love in the Thought of Kant and Kierkegaard Daryl J. Wennemann Fontbonne College dwennema@fontbonne.edu ABSTRACT: Following Ronald Green's suggestion concerning Kierkegaard's
More informationEUR1 What did Lenin and Stalin contribute to communism in Russia?
EUR1 What did Lenin and Stalin contribute to communism in Russia? Communism is a political ideology that would seek to establish a classless, stateless society. Pure Communism, the ultimate form of Communism
More informationChapter 2: Reasoning about ethics
Chapter 2: Reasoning about ethics 2012 Cengage Learning All Rights reserved Learning Outcomes LO 1 Explain how important moral reasoning is and how to apply it. LO 2 Explain the difference between facts
More informationKantian Deontology - Part Two
Kantian Deontology - Part Two Immanuel Kant s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals Nathan Kellen University of Connecticut October 1st, 2015 Table of Contents Hypothetical Categorical The Universal
More informationPHIL 202: IV:
Draft of 3-6- 13 PHIL 202: Core Ethics; Winter 2013 Core Sequence in the History of Ethics, 2011-2013 IV: 19 th and 20 th Century Moral Philosophy David O. Brink Handout #9: W.D. Ross Like other members
More informationINTENTIONALITY, NORMATIVITY AND COMMUNALITY IN KANT S REALM OF ENDS
INTENTIONALITY, NORMATIVITY AND COMMUNALITY IN KANT S REALM OF ENDS Stijn Van Impe & Bart Vandenabeele Ghent University 1. Introduction In the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals Kant claims that there
More informationSidgwick on Practical Reason
Sidgwick on Practical Reason ONORA O NEILL 1. How many methods? IN THE METHODS OF ETHICS Henry Sidgwick distinguishes three methods of ethics but (he claims) only two conceptions of practical reason. This
More information7/31/2017. Kant and Our Ineradicable Desire to be God
Radical Evil Kant and Our Ineradicable Desire to be God 1 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) Kant indeed marks the end of the Enlightenment: he brought its most fundamental assumptions concerning the powers of
More informationBOOK REVIEW: CONTEMPORARY MORAL PROBLEMS
BOOK REVIEW: CONTEMPORARY MORAL PROBLEMS Book Contemporary Moral Problems Chapter 1: James Rachels: Egoism and Moral skepticism 1. To know what Egoism and Moral Skepticism is 2. To understand and differentiate
More informationDuty and Categorical Rules. Immanuel Kant Introduction to Ethics, PHIL 118 Professor Douglas Olena
Duty and Categorical Rules Immanuel Kant Introduction to Ethics, PHIL 118 Professor Douglas Olena Preview This selection from Kant includes: The description of the Good Will The concept of Duty An introduction
More informationIntroduction to Ethics
Instructor: Email: Introduction to Ethics Auburn University Department of Philosophy PHIL 1020 Fall Quarter, 2014 Syllabus Version 1.9. The schedule of readings is subject to revisions. Students are responsible
More informationCourse Syllabus Political Philosophy PHIL 462, Spring, 2017
Instructor: Dr. Matt Zwolinski Office Hours: 1:00-3:30, Mondays and Wednesdays Office: F167A Course Website: http://ole.sandiego.edu/ Phone: 619-260-4094 Email: mzwolinski@sandiego.edu Course Syllabus
More informationFINAL EXAM SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS PHILOSOPHY 13 FALL, 2007
FINAL EXAM SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS PHILOSOPHY 13 FALL, 2007 Your Name Your TA's Name Time allowed: 90 minutes.. This section of the exam counts for one-half of your exam grade. No use of books of notes
More informationChapter 2 Reasoning about Ethics
Chapter 2 Reasoning about Ethics TRUE/FALSE 1. The statement "nearly all Americans believe that individual liberty should be respected" is a normative claim. F This is a statement about people's beliefs;
More information1/9. The First Analogy
1/9 The First Analogy So far we have looked at the mathematical principles but now we are going to turn to the dynamical principles, of which there are two sorts, the Analogies of Experience and the Postulates
More informationRawlsian Values. Jimmy Rising
Rawlsian Values Jimmy Rising A number of questions can be asked about the validity of John Rawls s arguments in Theory of Justice. In general, they fall into two classes which should not be confused. One
More informationFREEDOM AND THE SOURCE OF VALUE: KORSGAARD AND WOOD ON KANT S FORMULA OF HUMANITY CHRISTOPHER ARROYO
Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK, and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA METAPHILOSOPHY Vol. 42, No. 4, July 2011 0026-1068 FREEDOM AND THE SOURCE OF
More informationKantian Deontology. A2 Ethics Revision Notes Page 1 of 7. Paul Nicholls 13P Religious Studies
A2 Ethics Revision Notes Page 1 of 7 Kantian Deontology Deontological (based on duty) ethical theory established by Emmanuel Kant in The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Part of the enlightenment
More informationFlorida State University Libraries
Florida State University Libraries Undergraduate Research Honors Ethical Issues and Life Choices (PHI2630) 2013 How We Should Make Moral Career Choices Rebecca Hallock Follow this and additional works
More informationThe Communist Manifesto (1848) Eight Readings
The Communist Manifesto (1848) Eight Readings Preliminaries: On Dangerous Ideas A spectre is haunting Europe the spectre of Communism (63). A warning from former Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper
More informationThe Comparison of Marxism and Leninism
The Comparison of Marxism and Leninism Written by: Raya Pomelkova Submitted to: Adam Norman Subject: PHL102 Date: April 10, 2007 Communism has a huge impact on the world to this day. Countries like Cuba
More informationMarx on the Concept of the Proletariat: An Ilyenkovian Interpretation
Marx on the Concept of the Proletariat: An Ilyenkovian Interpretation The notion of concept and the concept of class plays a central role in Marx s and Marxist analysis of society and human activity. There
More informationFrom: Michael Huemer, Ethical Intuitionism (2005)
From: Michael Huemer, Ethical Intuitionism (2005) 214 L rsmkv!rs ks syxssm! finds Sally funny, but later decides he was mistaken about her funniness when the audience merely groans.) It seems, then, that
More informationDeontological Perspectivism: A Reply to Lockie Hamid Vahid, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran
Deontological Perspectivism: A Reply to Lockie Hamid Vahid, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran Abstract In his (2015) paper, Robert Lockie seeks to add a contextualized, relativist
More informationThe Impossibility of Evil Qua Evil: Kantian Limitations on Human Immorality
Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Philosophy Theses Department of Philosophy 7-31-2006 The Impossibility of Evil Qua Evil: Kantian Limitations on Human Immorality Timothy
More informationAgency and Responsibility. According to Christine Korsgaard, Kantian hypothetical and categorical imperative
Agency and Responsibility According to Christine Korsgaard, Kantian hypothetical and categorical imperative principles are constitutive principles of agency. By acting in a way that is guided by these
More informationA primer of major ethical theories
Chapter 1 A primer of major ethical theories Our topic in this course is privacy. Hence we want to understand (i) what privacy is and also (ii) why we value it and how this value is reflected in our norms
More information[Forthcoming in The International Encyclopedia of Ethics, ed. Hugh LaFollette. (Oxford: Blackwell), 2012] Imperatives, Categorical and Hypothetical
[Forthcoming in The International Encyclopedia of Ethics, ed. Hugh LaFollette. (Oxford: Blackwell), 2012] Imperatives, Categorical and Hypothetical Samuel J. Kerstein Ethicists distinguish between categorical
More informationOne Hundred Years of Catholic Social Teaching
One Hundred Years of Catholic Social Teaching The year 1991 finds our country in a severe recession. We have serious unemployment, a housing crisis among the poor, widespread reliance on food banks, and
More informationRawls, rationality, and responsibility: Why we should not treat our endowments as morally arbitrary
Rawls, rationality, and responsibility: Why we should not treat our endowments as morally arbitrary OLIVER DUROSE Abstract John Rawls is primarily known for providing his own argument for how political
More informationJudging Subsistence Rights by their Duties Eric Boot
Judging Subsistence Rights by their Duties Eric Boot Introduction Though Kant is often considered one of the fonts of inspiration for the human rights movement, the book in which he speaks most of rights
More informationSocial Salvation. It is quite impossible to have a stagnate society. It is human nature to change, progress
Christine Pattison MC 370 Final Paper Social Salvation It is quite impossible to have a stagnate society. It is human nature to change, progress and evolve. Every single human being seeks their own happiness
More informationThe Social Nature in John Stuart Mill s Utilitarianism. Helena Snopek. Vancouver Island University. Faculty Sponsor: Dr.
Snopek: The Social Nature in John Stuart Mill s Utilitarianism The Social Nature in John Stuart Mill s Utilitarianism Helena Snopek Vancouver Island University Faculty Sponsor: Dr. David Livingstone In
More informationEPISTEMOLOGY for DUMMIES
EPISTEMOLOGY for DUMMIES Cary Cook 2008 Epistemology doesn t help us know much more than we would have known if we had never heard of it. But it does force us to admit that we don t know some of the things
More informationHello again. Today we re gonna continue our discussions of Kant s ethics.
PHI 110 Lecture 29 1 Hello again. Today we re gonna continue our discussions of Kant s ethics. Last time we talked about the good will and Kant defined the good will as the free rational will which acts
More information