Slides for an Introduction to Philosophy course at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada. These slides discuss the first form of the Categorical Imperative as well as Kant's notion of the "good will.
o Königsberg, Prussia • now Kaliningrad, Russia Painting of Kant by Becker, 1768, public domain on Wikimedia Commons Map of Kaliningrad, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 on Wikimedia Commons
(we’ll look at two) First form, CI(1): o Act only in such a way that you could will your maxim to be a universal law (Kant, Early Modern Texts, p. 4) o “An act is morally acceptable if, and only if, its maxim is universalizable” (Schafer-Landau, p. 157)
promise to get myself out of difficulty, to avoid harm to myself, I will do so.” -- e.g., gambling debt Your view on morality of this? Lying promise maxim
universalized, you are doing what couldn’t will others to also do; you are unfairly making an exception for yourself (Schafer- Landau p. 161) Inconsistency: • If you have a good reason to do something, it should be good for all; if you can’t will it for all, then you’re being inconsistent in saying it’s a good reason for you but not for others.
of morality: oCategorical Imperative; CI (1): can you universalize the maxim? oImportant because of fairness and consistency How do we act morally rightly? oAct with a “good will”
thing, because it’s morally right oIntention: to do what morality says, to do your moral duty oMotive: because that’s your moral duty • Always good; can never be bad (even if bad consequences) • This puts morality in our control; consequences out of our control (Schafer-Landau 159)
it important to act from the motive of duty? • Is Kant saying we can only be acting morally if we dislike doing our duty but do it anyway? No! Morally good!
morally right? • Use the fundamental principle of morality, the Categorical Imperative (several forms) • CI (1): can you universalize the maxim? How do we act morally well? • A good will: do your moral duty, from the motive of duty (act from duty, not merely according to duty)
you want something else (if-then statements): If you want then you should goal action(s) Stop smoking Avoid lung disease Only required if you want the goal! (Schafer-Landau 162)
intrinsically good, good in itself, not because it leads to some other goal (Kant 6). Action good in itself What actions could be intrinsically good, always good no matter what else they lead to?
those who want certain goals) Strong obligation: outweighs our individual desires, goals Why is Kant’s fundamental moral principle the categorical imperative? Africa & Europe from a million miles away, image by NASA. Not copyright restricted.
I make it my principle to cut my life short when prolonging it threatens to bring more troubles than satisfactions." (Kant 7) ocontradictory to use the feeling of self-love to destroy that self “When I can make a false promise to get myself out of difficulty I will do so.” Contradiction?
I want to just indulge myself in pleasure (Kant 7) • Contradiction if universalized: willing both that no one develop talents and that people do so: o we need people to develop talents to get many things done, including what’s needed for pleasure Photo by Anthony de Kroon on Unsplash
are in need, even if I have the means to do so, because I want to keep my money and time to myself. • Contradiction if universalized: willing both that no one help others and that someone help you when you need it (Kant 8). o we require some things to continue to exist as rational beings and so must will we get help with those when needed.
act is morally right is to see if its maxim can be universalized o Is the goal of the action still achievable? o Is there a contradiction if the maxim is universalized? o Kant gives four examples to illustrate. • In order to be acting morally well, we not only have to act according to what the categorical imperative says, we have to do so with a good will: o Do our moral duty, from the motive of duty.