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Kantian Ethics: Should Maxine Get A Divorce?

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Do you ever look at that couple from high school on your Facebook timeline, that is still together presently and think “wow, they are really high school sweethearts? They have been together for so long.” Imagine that couple being Maxine and Jack. Maxine and Jack have been together since their freshman year of high school and got married shortly after graduation in 2011. They have been married now six years, but it has been a rough journey through-out their marriage. In 2015, Jack lost his job with Boeing. He took the situation very hard and turned to drinking alcohol to cope with it. With excessive binging, he then becomes very abusive towards his high school sweetheart and wife Maxine; having zero motivation in finding another job. Maxine loves Jack, but she has become afraid of Jack; she fears her life and well-being, while being in the same space as him. What is the best …show more content…

In this essay, I will be explaining what Kantian Ethics says Maxine should do about her abusive marriage, and why she should undergo that action. Should Maxine get a divorce from her high school sweetheart Jack? According to Kant, he believes that religion and morality should not be in the same category when making a decision. Kant says, “in order to determine what is the right choice, you have to have a good source of reasoning, and should consider that action for other people who may benefit.” One way to do this is to derive from pure reason which is known to Kant as Categorical Imperatives. Categorical Imperatives are rules you absolutely have to follow, which does not include your religious outlook, your desires, and or moral obligations. There are two famous rules/laws that we can identify and use in this case. The first one is “Act such that the maximum (principal) of your action can be willed to become universal law.” What Kant is saying here is we should only take action that can be

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