Immanuel Kant‚ whose philosophy in regards to animals derives from a very human centric point of view. Kant argues that because non-human animals aren’t rational or self-conscious beings‚ they aren’t ends-in-themselves and as such don’t need to have rights. This may surprise some due to his history of valuing the individual’s life rather than a collective group’s life‚ essentially saying that one life isn’t more important than another. However this only applies to human life‚ according to Kant animals
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Ethical Theories The two ‘core’ ethical theories covered in class that I started to assess are the categorical imperative and utilitarianism‚ both of which offer an approach to decision making in the context of social and interpersonal relationships. In this with in depth understanding of both that Kantian ethics is much easily appreciated than the ethics of utilitarianism as Kantian ethics apply to everyone yet both ethical approaches lead to faults. Utilitarianism is the moral theory that brings
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Heidegger‚ Kant‚ and the Ontological Argument In the introduction to The Basic Problems of Phenomenology‚ Martin Heidegger explains that throughout the history of philosophy‚ there has been many discoveries of the “domains of being” viz.‚ “nature‚ space‚ and soul”.1 Yet‚ none of these discoveries could be understood in a way that explains “their specific being.”2 As an example‚ Heidegger interprets this problem as the reason Plato understood why the soul‚ along with its logos‚ was a different
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us as human? Kant argues that we as human beings have pure practical reason‚ to which he means that we are able to construct rationality from various thought processes an act accordingly given those measures because we are persons capable and worthy of respect. According to Kant we own ourselves and by being autonomous beings we are able to act and choose freely. Kant though‚ also created a word to contrast Autonomy: Heteronomy. “I act according to determinations outside of me”‚ Kant argues‚ that
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moral laws . As Hume points out in A Treatise of Human Nature‚ ¡§morality is a subject that interests us above all others.¡¨ Originally‚ thoughts of how to live were centered on the issue of having the most satisfying life with ¡§virtue governing one¡¦s relations to others¡¨‚ as written by J. B. Schneewind in Modern Moral Philosophy. Nevertheless‚ the view that there is one way to live that is best for everyone and the view that morality is determined by God came to be questioned‚ and it is this that
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in order to go to heaven. Through this belief‚ an individual may not be actually acting morally being that their desire to be good is motivated by the purpose of going to heaven. Without this motive‚ someone may not be inclined to act in such a way. Kant and Aristotle both cover this idea of purpose. Aristotle believes that people’s actions are governed through their desire to achieve happiness. According to Aristotle‚ the purpose of human life is by happiness through living your life entirely by
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philosopher Immanuel Kant introduced the the categorical imperative inferring that moral correctness constitutes universal law. For example‚ reason has it that lying is morally wrong. To make an exception for lying to a Nazi to protect a Jew from harm is unethical. In the exception‚ a new opposing absolute allowing everyone to lye is created. It is not possible to universalize lying. All people must follow the same rule. Not following the universal rule makes the action wrong. Kant states “Act in such
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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. The principle of humanity is not borrowed from experience as this is a universal principle and this applies to all rational
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with morals and politics. Human nature is the basic substance shared by human beings‚ and is thus important in making sense of society and all its complexities along with the individual man and his liberties. Two prominent philosophers‚ Rousseau and Kant‚ express conjectures on human nature in their essays. Rousseau focuses on man in the untainted state of nature. He believes that the lack of knowledge and morality in savage man is better than the evils resulting from social inequalities‚ insisting
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Born Immanuel Kant in what is now known‚ as Kalingrad Russia in 1724‚ Kant became one of the greatest philosophers since the Greeks. Kant stayed in his hometown for most of his life and became famous for his brilliant mind and thoughts of his own ethical theory. Kant’s ethical theory is an analysis of the bases of the concepts of moral code and moral obligation. His theory goes into breaking down and giving guidelines to those rational beings who wish to live or seek to live a purely good life. They
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