Ethics Kant Notes HN.pdf - Hydee Nguyen Madame Ethics - G...

Hydee Nguyen
Madame
Ethics - G Block
20 April 2018
Kant Philosophy
A. Historical Background
● Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) constructed his ethical theory between Aristotle
and the Enlightenment
● 1st and 2nd centuries, Stoics formulated austere and demanding code for living
based on “following nature” helped pave way for Catholics “natural law” ethics
● Middle Ages, St. Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430) and St. Thomas Aquinas made
own moral theologies weaving in Scriptural wisdom and insights from
predecessors
● David Hume (1711 - 1776): notion that human beings could tell right from wrong
by means of a “moral sense,” have “sense” to perceive the good or bad qualities
of things or actions
● Kant raised strict Protestant, believed in God and maintained appreciation for
Christian morality, but had little or no interest in prayer of formal church structure
● Not inclined to cite Jesus, Scripture, or the church since he grounds his claims in
the reflection of reason alone
● Kant during Enlightenment or Age of Reason
● 17th and 18th centuries: discoveries of sciences in astronomy and physics, people
viewed their place in nature and relationship to religion
○ Galileo: Earth and humans not at the center of the Universe
● Kant believed moral questions should be kept separate from matter of faith and
grounded his moral theory in reason
B. Kant’s Case Against Aristotle
1. The Life of Reason is not necessarily a happy one
● Nature gave men and women reason to make choices for that purpose
○ Intended people to be happy, then would not have given them
reason or the ability to make choices
● Human free will produces misery more than natural disaster and diseases
● If nature had intended happiness as the end or goal of a human being, she
would have left everything to instinct
○ Nature must have given human beings a reason and a will for
another purpose
2. Categorical imperatives vs. counsels of prudence
● Doing one’s moral duty is different than striving for one’s own happiness
● To do one’s duty is to follow the moral rules, and moral rules are always
absolute commands that apply to everyone in every situation
● Moral rules = “categorical imperatives” = commands that must be
followed by everyone in every situation
● Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics has few absolute commands

● Kant believes Aristotle only put forward “counsels of prudence” or
general rules of thumb that experience has show commonly result in
human happiness
● Happiness is too uncertain to provide grounds for moral rules
● No one knows beyond a doubt what will make one happy
●