Dert
Immanuel Kant Summery:
There are two faculties of the mind: theoretical reason and practical reason. Theoretical reason allows us to answer the question, "What can I know?", while practical reason allows us to answer the question, "What ought I to do?".
For Kant, practical reason issues a duty to respect its law. That is, morality is not rooted in consequences (consequentialism), but rather in sheer duty (deontological ethics).
For Kant, practical reason issues a "categorical imperative" that commands us to act in a accordance with the dictates of reason. There is only one categorical imperative, but Kant offers three formulations of it:
1) Act as if your maxim were a universal law of nature. What if everybody did this action? A "maxim" is a personal principle of action, such as "I will never lie," "stealing is wrong." If your maxim is not one that can be universalized, then it does not issue from the categorical imperative. For example, if your maxim was "lying is permissible", then human relationships would not be possible because we would not know who to trust. This formulation, then, can be summed up with the question, "What if everyone did this"?
2) The second formulation goes as follows: Treat another rational being as an end in himself, not as a mere means. This means that we should value the other person solely for who they are and not merely use them to serve our needs. Of course, in daily life we cannot avoid this (you use the shop clerk in order to get your can of cola). Kant's point is that a person should not be a "mere" means. Treat that person as a rational being, much in the same way you would want to be treated.
3) The third formulation is as follows: Act as if your maxim would harmonize with a kingdom of ends. This means that the action should be consistent with a world in which people are treated as ends in themselves.
Here's a couple of additional points you should keep in mind:
1) An action is right in and of itself without
There are two faculties of the mind: theoretical reason and practical reason. Theoretical reason allows us to answer the question, "What can I know?", while practical reason allows us to answer the question, "What ought I to do?".
For Kant, practical reason issues a duty to respect its law. That is, morality is not rooted in consequences (consequentialism), but rather in sheer duty (deontological ethics).
For Kant, practical reason issues a "categorical imperative" that commands us to act in a accordance with the dictates of reason. There is only one categorical imperative, but Kant offers three formulations of it:
1) Act as if your maxim were a universal law of nature. What if everybody did this action? A "maxim" is a personal principle of action, such as "I will never lie," "stealing is wrong." If your maxim is not one that can be universalized, then it does not issue from the categorical imperative. For example, if your maxim was "lying is permissible", then human relationships would not be possible because we would not know who to trust. This formulation, then, can be summed up with the question, "What if everyone did this"?
2) The second formulation goes as follows: Treat another rational being as an end in himself, not as a mere means. This means that we should value the other person solely for who they are and not merely use them to serve our needs. Of course, in daily life we cannot avoid this (you use the shop clerk in order to get your can of cola). Kant's point is that a person should not be a "mere" means. Treat that person as a rational being, much in the same way you would want to be treated.
3) The third formulation is as follows: Act as if your maxim would harmonize with a kingdom of ends. This means that the action should be consistent with a world in which people are treated as ends in themselves.
Here's a couple of additional points you should keep in mind:
1) An action is right in and of itself without