Immanuel Kant's Philosophy Of Virtue Ethics

Ethics and the search for a good moral foundation first drew me into the world of philosophy. It is agreed that the two most important Ethical views are from the world’s two most renowned ethical philosophers Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. In this paper, I will explore be analyzing Mill’s Greatest Happiness Principle and Kant’s Categorical Imperative. In particular, I want to discuss which principle provides a better guideline for making moral decisions. And which for practical purposes ought to be taught to individuals.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) Deontology: the Ethics of Duty When it comes to Moral theories we have to understand what Immanuel Kant has written on .  The concept of the “good will”  The concept of duty  Three principles 

As virtue ethics purports, humans need experience, emotional maturity, reflection, and training in order to acquire moral wisdom. This cannot be gained simply by learning a rule and applying it to all situations regardless of your experience. Virtue ethics is also based on character traits. These traits take into account your intentions and what you are thinking which seem like a reasonable choice for an ethical decision. Now examine act utilitarianism.

Deontology is an ethical theory that looks at how we can make moral judgements of behaviour based on rational thinking. Deontology asks us to put aside things such as; emotion, desires and personal attachment when considering problems using only rational thinking. In this paper I will be looking at how Immanuel Kant’s first two Categorical Imperatives help us to find the correct choices in ethical issues that arise in life. These two categorical imperatives look at maxims becoming universal law, and humanity as a means to an ends. To start out we have to understand some of the key concepts of Deontology.

Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative is a theory of ethics. Essentially Kant gives us his definition of what imperative means, which he defines as something that a person has to do. The categorical imperative is something that a person has to do, regardless of the circumstances surrounding that situation. Kant expands on his ethical theory by creating a new idea called a maxim. What a maxim essentially is, is saying what you want to do, and giving reasons why you want to do it.

Aristotle’s account of morality and his concepts of moral virtue arise from his understanding of human nature. He noticed that every action of man has some end in view, and these ends seem to be an endless chain. For this reason, he he asked “what is the highest good?” for humans. He concludes that happiness is the highest good, and the ultimate purpose for human life, and is the only goal to pursue in itself.

An avid supporter of Kant may argue an amoralists paradigm. They may rearticulate Kant 's perception on rationality--all people who choose to be rational are consistent which is a primary law of the Principle of Universalizability. If the Principle of Universalizability is obeyed then the person must be moral. A supporter may conclude the argument by articulating that if one is rational, then one is moral.

I will explore the basics of Kantianism and discuss the outcome of the non-rational beings in the kingdom of ends. Immanuel Kant is one of the great enlightenment philosophers who focuses on deontological ethics; Deon being Greek for “duty” and Kantianism being the popular branch of deontological ethics. Kantianism is making ethical choices based

Immanuel Kant was an significant leader in the development of modern philosophy, formulating unique inputs and contributions. Kant constantly pleaded that “the moral worth of an action is to be judged not by its consequences but by the nature of the maxim or principle that motivated the action” (Cahn and Markie, 314). When looking at Kant’s point of view and ideology, he was a leader in deontology believing the theory of the ‘right’. Kant believed that humans of this world should do the right thing for the right reason, instead of doing things for the following consequences or the rewards afterwards. When dissecting Kant’s studies, he believed in the supreme moral principle that is called the Categorical Imperative.

Aristotle explains good as something that performs properly the function that it ought to do. In this light therefore, the ultimate good is that which fulfills the desires of both the person that is doing the act and also for the sake of others. Aristotle teaches us a new word

Immanuel Kant has the concept of finding the core answer of a certain category. To look for the equation to move forward when you are involved or part of a project. It requires applying the concept of the categorical imperative. Moreover, Immanuel Kant moral theory would be actions are morally right in virtue of your motives that derive from a person’s needs or from his/her inclination. For example, right action is defined as morally precise to those individual with

Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804, was a German philosopher who is considered to be a central figure in modern philosophy. Throughout his career Kant argued that the human mind creates the structure of human experience, that reasoning is the source of morality, that aesthetics arises from a faculty of disinterested judgment, that space and time are forms of our sensibility, and that the world as it is "in-itself" is independent of our concepts of it. However, Kant is most noticed for his platform of alternative ethical approach known as duty. Also regarded as deontological ethics or deontology, it is the ethical position that judges the morality of an action based on rules, which is thought to be where the title of duty comes from. According to the theories placed by Kant, the rightness or wrongness of an action does not depend on their consequences, but rather if they maintain the ability to fulfil our duty.

Paper I – Spring ‘16 What has to be true about our actions for them to be right or wrong? Respond with reference to Kant and Bentham In an episode of the popular 90’s TV-series Friends named “The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS”, the characters Phoebe and Joey engage in a debate over the existence of self-less acts of kindness. Referencing the philosopher Immanuel Kant’s moral theory, Joey, claims that there is no such thing as a “selfless good deed” (“The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS”). Phoebe now sets out to disprove this theory and comes back having allowed a bee to sting her so “he could look cool in front of his friends” (“The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS”).