Preview

‘Explain Kantian Ethics When Applied to Having the Right to a Child’

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
531 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
‘Explain Kantian Ethics When Applied to Having the Right to a Child’
‘Explain Kantian ethics when applied to having the right to a child’
Kantian ethics is concerned with doing the most morally correct thing and to do something as it is our duty to do so. Kantian ethics is deontological as it is concerned with the actions rather than the consequences which mean it must also be absolute because there is no room for exception. Kant believed we all knew what it was to have moral obligation meaning Kantian ethics would be considered a priori as we all have prior knowledge of what moral obligation is and this is just knowledge we have without gaining it from experience. Kant says that we should treat people as means in themselves rather than having yourself as the means. Kant also stated that we should all act in a way in which it can be universalized.
With all this being said, when applied to having a right to a child, Kant wouldn’t be moved by compassion regarding a situation where a couple can’t get pregnant. Kant believes our feelings shouldn’t come into it. Kant believes personal feelings are irrelevant and we should act out of duty because it’s our duty to do so.
A way in which people get pregnant is with the help of a surrogate. For example a friend may volunteer to be a surrogate for the struggling couple but she should only do this out of moral obligation and because this is a way of her doing her duty. This would mean that surrogates shouldn’t volunteer for things in return such as money. If they do it for money then they would be following the hypothetical imperative meaning they are doing something for themselves, a personal goal. After using our moral obligation to determine whether surrogacy is right or wrong, the surrogate should then do what is right.
If we believe that being a surrogate for money is right then we believe it is okay for this to e universalized. This meaning that we would believe it is ok for everybody to be a surrogate for money rather than doing something because it’s our duty.
If somebody is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Assignment 1 for CS105

    • 1662 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Basic principles:Kantianism think that we need to use the moral laws to restrain human ‘s behavior ,and every moral laws itself should based on reason.Kantianism have a series of system info to prove whether one thing is correct or not.He think that good will is always good even if it cause harm eventually.We should not focus on what we want to do,but what we ought to do.There are two most important formaulation of Kantianism.First,one action is moral only if we build a moral…

    • 1662 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kant, worked on ethics and wrote two general schools of thoughts. The first theory is consequentialist moral theories, which divides the thought of right and wrong based on the outcome and it consequence of an action, therefore the end justifies the means.The second theory is deontology which is similar to consequentialist but instead right and wrong based upon oneself. Thus categorical imperative was introduced, categorical imperative is based upon kant's idea that morality is derived by rationality and all moral judgement are rationally supported, in other words what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong. In more detail into categorical Imperative, there are three maxim, first maxim is all your actions must have universality. therefore for if you want to do something it must be okay for everyone else to do it, as Kant uses suicide as an example he says “is it contrary to my duty to take my life if i am in despair due to my many misfortunes? First, i should ask what if all though this way and acted upon it and became a law of nature” Second Maxim is every human should be treated as a end and not a mean, which means you’re not obligated nor allowed to manipulate someone no matter what. Third maxim one should act like you're the moral authority of the entire universe. As we compare this to Friedrich Nietzsche’s thoughts on morality we notice difference. immanuel Kant in…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Surrogate parenting is a process where an arrangement is made and an individual who is not a parent is given the parental rights, duties and the responsibility of parenthood either it is court pointed or voluntary. Another example on the more scientific level, an infertile couple can pay another woman who agrees to carry the baby for the infertile woman (couple) through artificial insemination. (Medical Encyclopedia, 2013). The ethical dilemmas surrounding parenting involves several parties, the surrogate, the intending family as well as the child. Some of the dilemmas from the surrogate are is she going to be able to let the child go once it is delivered, after taking the pain of carrying and delivering the child not to mention the stress that comes with it. The dilemmas on the intending family can be questions as, is the surrogate able to carry the child to full term, is she going to change her mind by trying to keep the child, is the child truly theirs since another person carried it, are they going to disclose this information to the child one day?…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Of course, when approaching an issue such as the right to a child, followers of Kantian ethics will acknowledge that this is an incredibly controversial area, especially when considering the implications of this. For example, the right to a child for those who cannot naturally produce may incur or involve such procedures as IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) which remain controversial to many people still today.…

    • 2219 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before I go about pitting these two systems against each other, however, it would be best to first give you a (hopefully) sufficient understanding of what composes each respective ethical theory, so that you can better follow the comparison ant critique of the theories later on. First, let us take a look at Kant's system of ethics, which is based on the notion of duty. For Kant, this duty was something that had to be motivated from something that was larger than yourself and your emotion; it had to be drawn from an objective place, and with the right intentions in mind. Have you ever heard the adage that goes “doing the right thing for the wrong reason”? That would apply perfectly to Kant's theory. The result's of one's actions mean nothing if the intentions are selfish in nature. To Kant, intention was perhaps even more important than the results of your actions, due to the fact that one can not always have full control over the ends of their intentions (intentions that, in order to be in accordance to…

    • 2194 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Surrogacy involves a woman who bears a child for a couple, with the intention of handing it over at birth. She is usually either artificially inseminated with the man's sperm or implanted with a fertilized egg from the woman or with a fertilized egg with the husband’s sperm and wife’s egg. This would be done when the couple have tired endlessly to conceive their own child but because one of them is infertile or might have had a sickness which has taken the opportunity to have a baby so these couples might go into surrogacy.…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Recent evidence by Stanford University has shown that a surrogate’s womb may act as more than just a home for a fetus, in fact, the womb may effects how a child’s genes will be programmed (Moss and Baden). If this study is correct it would suggest that surrogacy may be more than just a service. Additionally, this evidence would change the role of a surrogate to lean farther away from a service provider, and closer to selling a child with whom a surrogate has genetic ties too. Studies like these have amplified anti-surrogacy arguments like those of Barba Rothman. In her article, “On Surrogacy” Rothman rejects the idea that, “a woman can be pregnant with someone else’s baby… it reduces a woman to a container.” Furthermore, Rothman insists that surrogacy is baby-selling.…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    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.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Kant approached towards philosophy; he developed “The Categorical Imperative” which is a rule to do what is right. He believed that we shouldn’t lie to one another; he also believed that if we made a promise we should keep that promise. “Kant argues that the moral worth of an action it’s to be judged not by its consequences but by the nature of the maxim or principles…

    • 93 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cafs

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Surrogate motherhood raises difficult ethical, philosophical and social issues. There is debate in the community as to the wisdom of surrogacy arrangements. There is scope for disagreement as to the morality of aspects of such reviews the arrangements. This Chapter reviews the arguments for and against surrogacy, including the moral bases for making judgements about surrogacy. In raising these issues the Commission is seeking guidance on community attitudes to assist in formulating principles on can he made.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kant philosophy has contributed in development of "pure" moral philosophy, a "metaphysics of morals" that is based on the concepts of reason, not on empirical observations. According to his philosophy moral obligations are applicable to all human beings as it applies not only for particular person in particular situation, but also to all rational beings in all circumstances.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Infertility

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are few cases where the conventional options cannot be used for having a baby. In such cases, couples can solicit the assistance of a third party to provide sperm, egg or carry a child for them. This is termed as ‘surrogacy.’ Women without uterus or with uterine diseases or with hysterectomy done can choose surrogacy for having a…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The surrogate motherhood controversy has been an ongoing battle for many years with two different sides giving their viewpoints. This has created much of a battle over recent years. Surrogate motherhood controversy has stirred up many critics and authors viewpoints to justify whether surrogacy should be practiced at all and if it should be legalized. While interpreting and analyzing the debate on whether surrogacy has ethical or moral values, or if it has turned the creation of a child into a new form of commodity to individuals, especially the women who bear the child for childless couples.…

    • 3706 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    What is the reality of surrogacy today? Is it the miracle of helping couples complete their families with a baby? Is it pushing technology to surpass Mother Nature so that infertile couples or same sex couples can have a child of their own? How far will we go as a country, a nation, or a world to ensure a couple has a baby? Are the motives surrounding this process in the best interest of the families and the baby? The reality of surrogacy is the demand. With demand comes great responsibility and with the demand for surrogacy growing so rapidly, we have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the surrogate, couples seeking surrogacy and the child. To ensure safety, laws and regulations must be implemented not only state wide but nationally as well.…

    • 1457 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, she mentions that there are the “usual clients”—particularly in their teenage years—that so clearly have no parental or financial support behind them. The argument that is made here by pro-choice activists, is that the when the ability to take care of the potential child is at stake—thus providing a lifestyle that is not fit for a baby—it is of greater nobility to clear the child and the mother of such burden. In my opinion, there is only one word for a person with this attitude: selfish. Having a personal relationship with someone who is struggling with the fact that she is incapable of having children of her own, I see the inevitable sorrow that goes along with having an incomplete family despite your greatest efforts. In the essay, it is said that there are over 100 abortions a day in that particular clinic alone. In this world, if all of those people chose to let a family who is capable of providing the child a stable homelife adopt the child, they would not only be saving the child’s life, but saving a family’s life. Infertility is a growing issue in today’s society, and adoption is sometimes the only answer. Families around the world who are struggling with this issue have to pray for a miracle, as sometimes it takes up to 10 years to finally adopt a child. This is all happening, whilst girls and women alike are making it a…

    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics