Kant-and-Right-Theorists Dka

Kant and Right Theorists
and
Utilitarianism
Immanuel Kant
• German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-
1804) was an opponent of
utilitarianism. Leading 20th century proponent
of Kantianism: Professor Elizabeth Anscombe
(1920-2001).
• Kant’s theory is an example of a deontological

moral theory – the rightness or wrongness of
actions does not depend on their
consequences but on whether they fulfill our
duty.
GOODWILL
The will - is the faculty of acting according to a
conception of law.
THEREFORE: The morality of an action must be

assessed in terms of the motivation behind it.
EXAMPLE:
If two people, Juan and Tamad, perform the same
act, from the same conception of the law, but
events beyond Juan’s control prevent him from
achieving his goal, Tamad is not less praiseworthy
for not succeeding. We must consider them on
equal moral ground in terms of the will behind
their actions.
GOODWILL
The only thing that is good without
qualification is the goodwill
Courage, health, and wealth can all be used

for ill purposes and therefore cannot be
intrinsically good.
Happiness is not intrinsically good
because even being worthy of
happiness requires that one possess a
goodwill
GOODWILL
Goodness cannot arise from acting on impulse or
natural inclination, even if impulse coincides with
duty.
It can only arise from conceiving of one’s actions

in a certain way.
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
The overarching principle of all morality is what
everyone simply calls the “categorical imperative.”
Kant believed it is the supreme principle of morality
The Categorical Imperative determines what our moral

duties are.
An imperative is a command.
“Pay your taxes!”
“Stop kicking me!”
“Don't kill animals!”

HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVES:
These imperatives command conditionally on
your having a relevant desire.
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVES:
These command unconditionally.
MORALITY AND CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVES
Morality must be based on the categorical imperative because morality

is such that you are commanded by it and is such that you cannot opt
out of it or claim that it does not apply to you.
DETERMINANTS WHETHER OR NOT A GIVEN ACT IS
MORALLY RIGHT
1. Formulate the maxim that the act falls under
2. Universalize that maxim
3. Consider whether your maxim is even conceivable in a world

governed by this law of nature
4. Ask yourself whether you would, or could, rationally will to

act on your maxim in such a world
4 C at egori es o f D u t ies
1. perfect duties toward ourselves
2. perfect duties toward others
3. imperfect duties toward ourselves
4. imperfect duties toward others

S A M P L E C A S E S
1. To refrain from suicide
2. To refrain from making promises you have no intention of

keeping
3. To develop one’s talents
4. Contribute to the happiness of others

Problems for Kant’s Theory
• Kant’s view is that lying is always wrong. His argument for
this is summarized by James Rachels as follows:
(1) We should do only those actions that conform to rules
that we could will be adopted universally.
(2) If we were to lie, we would be following the rule “It is
permissible to lie.”
(3) This rule could not be adopted universally, because it
would be self-defeating: people would stop believing one
another, and then it would do no good to lie.
(4) Therefore, we should not lie.
D I F F E R E NT K I NDS O F R I GHTS
LEGAL- it is an ethical and political principles can be

justified by reason alone, that they are objective and
universal in scope, and that they do not depend on the
subjective feelings or desires of individuals or originate
in the decrees of government.
DUTIES OF JUSTICE- based on objective moral
principles.
Virtuous Actions Justices

emerge from inner pertains to external
qualities of individuals actions that violate
the rights of others
~moral- personal moral qualities and actions that
do not violate the rights of others.
~ moral principles
~ each person must " legislate" his own moral

principles and act upon those principles and act
upon those principles " voluntarily".
~ whether or not we ought to do something isn't
really a moral choice - instead it's just contingent
on our desires.
~duties of virtue- free self- constraint.
~legal is not always moral

example the right of freedom speech.
Utilitarianism
It is an ethical theory that determines right from
wrong by focusing on outcomes (consequences)
What ought a
person to do?
The general theory came from a Greek philosopher EPICURUS.
He gives a clear statement of the role of pleasure in moral
judgement.
Francis Hutcheson – linked morality with happiness
Jeremy Bentham – Principle of Utility
John Stuart Mill – “higher and lower pleasure”
Henry Sidgwick – methods of Ethics

An action is good if it does not
maximize the overall wellness of
the society.
Utilitarianism
Goal: greatest levels of wellness
Act Utilitarianism argues that we should

T always choose our actions based on what will
Y cause the greatest amount of happiness.
2 P Rule Utilitarianism argues that we should
E figure out what sort of behavior usually causes
S happiness and turn it into a set of rules.
Business’s Fascination with Utilitarianism
Consequentialism
- Understanding that the wrongness or rightness of
actions is entirely determined by there actions
- For instance, businesses may encourage their

employees to act as they wish as long as the essential
outcome will be to the benefit of the organization
Welfarism
- Understanding that the wrongness or
rightness of operations depends on society’s
conceptions of welfare or wellbeing
- Aims to maximize individual’s utilities

- Balancing the principles of pleasure and pain
and how they can influence their performance
Individualism
- every individual pursue happiness, thus will engage in
actions that maximize utility
- Businesses will take actions that bring them

happiness
- Happiness for businesses may include increased
profits, increased customer satisfaction levels,
superior reputation, and improved employee
satisfaction levels among others
Aggregation
- The wrongness or rightness of actions depends
on their ability to average the benefits brought to
all individuals
- Bentham’s perspective: the consequences of an

action should bring happiness not only to an
individual but also the community around him or
her
Reporters:
AMOGGAO, Jayrold
DANCEL, Ici
GATUDAN, Marilyn
REGUA, Candy
REYES, Richard Dan
COA 2F
THANK YOU

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Kant and Right Theorists

• Kant’s theory is an example of a deontological

THEREFORE: The morality of an action must be

Courage, health, and wealth can all be used

It can only arise from conceiving of one’s actions

Kant believed it is the supreme principle of morality

The Categorical Imperative determines what our moral

“Pay your taxes!”

“Stop kicking me!”

“Don't kill animals!”

MORALITY AND CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVES

Morality must be based on the categorical imperative because morality

2. Universalize that maxim

3. Consider whether your maxim is even conceivable in a world

4. Ask yourself whether you would, or could, rationally will to

2. perfect duties toward others

3. imperfect duties toward ourselves

4. imperfect duties toward others

2. To refrain from making promises you have no intention of

3. To develop one’s talents

4. Contribute to the happiness of others

LEGAL- it is an ethical and political principles can be

Virtuous Actions Justices

~ each person must " legislate" his own moral

~duties of virtue- free self- constraint.

~legal is not always moral

Francis Hutcheson – linked morality with happiness

Jeremy Bentham – Principle of Utility

John Stuart Mill – “higher and lower pleasure”

Henry Sidgwick – methods of Ethics

Act Utilitarianism argues that we should

- For instance, businesses may encourage their

- Aims to maximize individual’s utilities

- Businesses will take actions that bring them

- Bentham’s perspective: the consequences of an

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