Lecture 15 Deontological Kantian Ethics focuses on the motive or intention behind the ethical action duty Deontological ethics is a tradition that is non consequentialist does not look at the Jaymie Ticknor Intro Philosophy 1050 Sect 003 19 March 2014 consequences secular from religion normative prescriptive what you should do focuses on doing ones duty most importantly expressed by Immanuel Kant author of deontological ethics Earlier Forms include Chinese philosophy of Confucius clear that acting ethically out of motivation for righteousness is better than being motivated by good consequences Indian philosophy in the Bhagavad Gita clear on the importance of following one s duty Krishna a Hindu god told that it is one s duty to fight and not worry about his own consequences Origin of Ethics some deontological ethicists might view ethical standards as originating in God s commands Kant tried to base the origin of all his philosophical thinking including his ethics on the individual freedom of rational human beings without referring to God put emotion and experience aside and figure it out through reason Human Nature Kant s answer is not that human beings are made in God s image and likeness but that human beings have rationality and that through this rationality they have freedom freedom to choose is the basis of morality choosing one action over the other motive and intention Intentions Kant argues that we are subject to moral judgment because we are able to deliberate and give reasons for our actions so moral judgment should be directed at our reasons for acting believes that we are able to achieve a universal morality borderline between rationalist and empiricist Non Consequentialist The moral worth compassion and sympathy varies but not principles of an action is not determined by its consequences because evil intention bringing good consequences and good intentions bringing bad consequences the consequences of an action are not under our control we can only control our motives when acting as a moral person Basic Themes Personal Autonomy moral person is a rational self legislator Respect persons should always be treated as an end not a means no person should be used Duty moral action is one that we must do in accordance with a certain principle not because of its good consequence Imperatives everything we do morally should be universal turn that motive into a universally applicable maxim reason is the same at all times and for all people it is this fundamental principle of moral reason that is known as the categorical imperative An imperative is a command to act it is prescriptive two kinds Hypothetical commands that are not absolute but conditional and premised on one s desires if you want Y then you ought to X not universal Categorical absolute and unconditional moral commands you ought to X end in itself without regards to means or other ends moral judgments The Principle of Universality act only from those personal rules that you can at the same time will to be universal moral laws if everyone universally did something this is a basis for the ethics of rights The Principle of Autonomy act in regard to all persons in ways that treat them as ends in themselves and never simply as means to accomplish the ends of others Sometimes more moral to break universal maxims than to follow them Universalizable not self defeating reversible consistently applied rules must not be self defeating but must be reversible cannot make exceptions to moral rules just for oneself Disadvantages one important argument against Kant s absolute moral rules has to do with the possibility of resolving cases of moral conflict murder looking for friend in house Kant would say to tell the truth instead of lying to protect friend s life since you cannot control the consequence Another argument would be taking away emotion from human nature is almost impossible Kant was a retributivist believed that the punishment should fit the crime people who committed crimes had ceded their rationality and were therefore less than human and should be treated as so