Free will, by definition, is having the ability or power to act without regard to limitations and at the individuals own discretion.…
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from the 18th century who is well known as an essential person in philosophy today. He has made the argument that there are a set of essential ideas that structure human experience and is the source of morality. His thought continues to have a major influence in contemporary thought, especially the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics. Kant’s theory on morality as often been criticized on being too…
In this analytical paper I’ll be analyzing a scenario about a five year old girl who is in renal failure and is in need of a kidney transplant. In this the father is the only one compatible with her, but he does not want to donate his kidney to save her life. The scenario will be analyzed through the deontological/Kantian and the consequentialist/utilitarian viewpoints in ethical decision making. It’ll also be analyzed by deciding which perspective would be relevant and a discussion of what I as a doctor would do following the ethical view point of my choice.…
Some of our service users have hearing loss and on occasions forget to bring their hearing aids to day care. This presents a severe communication challenge and barrier on these occasions.…
He believed that our actions must come from a sense of Duty, not because we care for or love one another but because it is our Duty to “respect the Moral Law” (p. 246). Judging the importance of a decision based on whether or not it was following a rule or set of rules is called deontological ethics. He believed that it was not the consequences of the action which were important but the person’s motive carrying out the said action. Many disagree with Kant saying that we must have a foundation to start from, a reason such as love or concern to do what is morally…
This essay aims to argue the views of two different theorist, Jeremy Bentham and Immanuel Kant, with regards to their views on moral worth of an action. The idea of good and bad creates heated debates among many, but this essay will successfully unravel the layers of Bentham’s theory of Utilitarianism and his belief that all our motives are driven by pleasure and pain. While arguing Kant’s opposing argument that moral worth of an act revolves around democratic attitudes, and that moral truths are founded on reasons that is logical to all people. When one breaks down both theories, it occurs that Kant’s theory comes out to be the more sensible one in numerous aspects.…
Kant believed that we could act on desires or on reason. He used the case of a shopkeeper and a reluctant benefactor to illustrate this. In the case of the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper’s purpose was to make an easy profit and his means of doing so was to shortchange his customers. His actions were not done out of duty but out of self-interest. He says, “Hence the action was done neither from duty nor from immediate inclination, but merely for a selfish purpose”(986). In contrast, the reluctant benefactor—being a person that has no desire to act on something—just does it because it’s the right thing to do.…
Free will is a concept of much debate. I base my conception of free will on Erasmus's definition. Erasmus argues that free will is “The human will by which man is able to direct himself towards to turn away from what leads to eternal salvation”(6). My conception of free will alters the last clause and instead substitutes, man’s ability to direct himself towards and turn away from success, in addition to having the freedom to define such success. In this paper I will argue that man’s will is never completely free; it is always dependent to some extent on God. I will analyze the philosophical theories of Erasmus, Luther, Descartes, Spinoza, and the movie The Adjustment Bureau, and the arguments they they make in their…
Kant thinks that we are not really in freedom if we are only looking for pleasure or desire and avoiding pains. By meeting our instinctive needs and become slaves of our desires and impulse.…
Good will according to Kant, is attempting to do the right thing in all situations. Kant believes that in every situation one encounters, there will always be good. I believe that although in some instances, there can be goodness; I also believe that there are certain situations in which only the bad can occur. For example, on the day of the terrorist attack on 9/11 in New York, the terrorist act was not morally correct in anyway. On his prime…
Kant believes that a good will is based on the attitude you have towards what you are doing; meaning that doing the right thing based on the fact that it’s the right thing to do is what makes up good will and doing what you think is good doesn’t mean that the act is actually good. This tides over…
Immanuel Kant’s question ‘What is Enlightenment?’ proposed the answer by evaluating the true definition hidden underneath freedom, and linked it with human maturity by foretelling how progression of humanity would be developed based on freedom. Kant was successful in foreshadowing that human advancement will be immensely affected…
Kant was a deontologist who believed that knowledge was created by the mind, not external factors; because of this he wanted to unite reason and experience. Humanity’s frail nature was the human condition according to Kant, their struggle to make moral decisions and do the right thing can only be solved by employing reason and his three maxims when decision making.…
From Kant’s philosophical perspective enlightenment is the process by which an individual grows out of self-imposed immaturity and avoids that said immaturity in a definite manner. (Kant 41) People allow themselves to be immature because they are fearful of utilizing and growing their understanding. Another reason for un-enlightenment is the fact that majority of people are slothful and possess as a character trait slothfulness (Kant 41). The common man finds it extremely difficult to overcome immaturity. One of the ways of overcoming this mental barrier is when a person allows themselves to entertain the notion of freedom and decides both subconsciously and consciously to engender it within their psyche. One of these small steps includes the…
Free will is the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate, the ability to act at one’s own discretion, freedom of choice, liberty…