PHL 301 1st Edition Lecture 25Outline of Last Lecture I.The Eightfold Noble PathII.JainismIII.Types of Buddhisma.Theravadab.Mahayanac.ZenOutline of Current LectureI.RationalityII.Formula of Universal LawIII.ConsequencesIV.ImperativesCurrent LectureKant, a rationalist, holds that it is rationality that underlies ethics. Right acts respect rationality, while wrong ones don’t. So, the answer to the question, “Why be moral?” is that it isthe rational thing to do. Kant’s Formula of Universal Law states that we should act only according to something that could become a universal law, or what would be good universally for any rational being. On a side note, an unqualified good is something that is good no matter what. A qualified good is something that is good under certain conditions. For example, cake is a qualified good because it can be good at birthday parties but bad for dieters. Money is a qualified good because it can be good to have money to buy food, but money can also make people greedy. The only qualifiedgood, says Kant, is good will. It is the only absolutely necessary thing in or out of this world. Kant says even justice is a good will, and that a defensive war is justified. A good will acts on the basis of universal considerations. It is free from all influence of contingent grounds, which are unique to the person.Consequentialists like Utilitarian Bentham and Mill hold that the value of an act dependsentirely on its consequences. Deontologists, such as Aristotle, Confucius, and the Buddha, hold that the value of an act depends on more than just its consequences. Kant is an extreme deontologist, which means that he thinks consequences determine nothing.These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Kant’s imperatives express commands or obligations. A hypothetical imperative is conditional and is a means to an end. If you’re in circumstance C, then do A. A categorical imperative, on the other hand, its utterly unconditional, and there is only one: Have a good
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