Notes on the Ethical Theories Essay

Immanuel Kant (notice that he lived in the 1700’s and people likely had different views back then), a philosopher, believes that using reason, one can make a list of ethical actions. Kant says that one must generalize the certain action he is about to do to see if it is reasonable. For example, you ask yourself â€Å"should I cut the line in the cafeteria?† The way you can answer this question is by asking yourself â€Å"What if everyone cut the line?† Of course, if that happened then there would be chaos, so you shouldn’t cut the line. This also applies to stealing, murdering, and keeping promises. He basically says that everyone is equal and you shouldn’t justify your actions to yourself because you are not special and you wouldn’t want others to do that to you. â€Å"Treat others as you would have them treat you.† Golden Rule. But, if only you do this and no one else does you are going to get eaten up by the world. This may contradi ct a person’s adaptability and may negatively appeal to emotion; you will feel like a B—-. Veil of ignorance- You have two people who love cake. Tell one person to cut a cake in half but let the other choose which half to take. Again, Golden Rule. Kant says there is a difference between objects and people, you can replace objects but not people. Someone broke my computer, I am sad. He buys me a new one, I am happy. I am about to die, my parents are sad. They can clone me, should they be happy? He also says that you shouldn’t kill people for the greater good. But what if they were murderers or rapists aren’t they causing sadness, and their deaths would in fact be for the greater good? Kant sees that a persons intentions that count rather than the final result. But what if I am helping a person, who is bad and corrupt, against a thief who is only trying to feed his family, quite the dilemma. Kant uses only reasoning rather than emotion so that people always do what is right rather than when they feel like it. Consistency is key to his theories. Criticisms of Kant Moral Absolutism – You can’t always not lie. What if a murderer wants to kill your dad? Your dad hides and then the murder breaks in and asks you were he is. If you follow Kant’s ideas, you would tell him where your dad is. There must be some sort of emotion to counteract those who do not follow the philosophy of Kant. But again, Kant is saying that EVERYONE should do this, and this murderer wouldn’t exist in Kant’s ideal world. Rule worship- To blindly follow rules without using your own knowledge. â€Å"If rules can not be bent, then they should be broken.† Conflicts of duty- should you steal the medicine for your dying wife? Should you save your grandmother from the burning house or the doctor who can save many people? Moral coldness- The world would be emotionless and sad. There will be little space for happiness because everything is going to be so constant and emotions will have a very small presence. Utilitarianism- Seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number. What if you could randomly pick 10 people to die and save 100? Would you do it? You can say yes, because it logical, you use no emotion what so ever. That goes against Kant though because he says that people have dignity and you shouldn’t take that away. You can say no, where you are mostly using emotion.