After today’s lesson I will be able to:

Explain Kant’s theory on moral ethics Explain the term ‘categorical imperative’ Understand the phrase 'Duty and Reason'

Your mum asks you to do the dishes.

What do you normally do?

Why??

Let's say you agree to do them!

You might agree to do them because: -

You want to avoid the consequences of not doing dishes (i.e. getting moaned at, grounded etc), so you do them

You expect that she will somehow return the favour to you when you need one, so you do them.

You want your mum to tell the rest of your family how good you are

As her child you know it is your duty to respect and obey your mum, so you do the dishes.

CONSIDER: What is the motivation behind each reason?

Today we will learn about Immanuel Kant.

Kant believed that your motive is the most important aspect of making a moral decision

After today’s lesson I will be able to:

Explain Kant’s theory on moral ethics Explain the term ‘categorical imperative’

What do you think it means to be enlightened??

The 18thC Enlightenment This is the term used

to describe a philosophical movement from the 18th Century

The Enlightenment was a rejection of all the existing ideas and beliefs.

It was characterised by a strong emphasis on human reason

Immanuel Kant

Kant was a German philosopher

He is known as one of the most influential philosophers during the Enlightenment

He found it hard to smile!

This is him trying his best to smile!!

So what guiding principles did Kant use when making moral decisions?

For Kant, morality should be based on reason and duty – not on feelings, or consequences

He believed in God but held that morality should be autonomous

His ideas are appealing to both religious and non-religious people

Kant believed that you could use your reason to figure out what was the right thing to do based on what you ought to do in a situation. He called this the 'goodwill'.

• A moral decision should not be based on a feeling.

• It should not be based on a reward.• It should be based on a sense of duty.

Doing the Dishes

You could agree to do them because: -

You want to avoid the consequences of not doing dishes (i.e. getting moaned at, grounded etc), so you do them

You expect that she will somehow return the favour to you when you need one, so you do them.

You want your mum to tell the rest of your family how good you are

As her child you know it is your duty to respect and obey your mum, so you do the dishes.

For Kant this is what you ought to do! It is your moral duty

Acting on goodwill leads us to do our moral duty - purely because it is our moral duty.

For Kant morality is all about having the right motive!

Billy the shopkeeper always gives the right change to his customers because he is worried that they won't return if he short changes them.

What do you think about his motive?

According to Kant, Billy is morally wrong (because he is not acting out of 'goodwill').

Billy's decision is based on the negative consequence that it would have for his business.

Therefore his motive is actually quite selfish.

His motive should be simply that giving the right change is the right thing to do.

You help an old person carry their shopping across the street. You may have done this because…

• You felt pity and compassion for the old person • You want to show others how nice you are• You would feel bad ignoring the lady• Your parents would give you into trouble if they heard

you didn't help

What would Kant say about these reasons???

None of these reasons would put a smile on Kant's face

According to Kant you should help the old person across the road because you have a sense of duty to help the elderly in society.

Motive

Motive is very important in Kantian ethics. Your motive should be based on a sense of moral duty and not on anything else.

So what is your moral duty??

Kant didn't give us much idea specifically about what is right or wrong.

He did say that what is right is what we can make a universal law from. We can use our sense of reason to do this.

So what is your moral duty??

“Act as if the maxim from which you were to act were to become through your will a general law”

Critique of Pure reason, Kant, 1788

(Maxim = rule or principle)

“Act as if the maxim from which you were to act were to become through your will a general law” Critique of Pure reason, Kant, 1788

This is just a way of saying “what would it be like if everyone did that?”

What this means is that the moral decision you make in any situation is something you think it would be be okay for everyone to do too.

Get it?

If you didn't think it would be okay for everyone everywhere then it would be wrong.

This means that every moral decision has to be universally applicable.

Consider the following...

You work in a corner shop. You are tempted to take a chocolate bar without paying for it. Nobody would notice...

You work in a corner shop. You are tempted to take a chocolate bar without paying for it. Nobody would notice...

What would the world be like if everyone everywhere did this???

You have a good job. You are in charge of a big budget and you discover a way to move some money into your bank account under the guise of 'company expenses'. You know that you will not get caught...

You have a good job. You are in charge of a big budget and you discover a way to move some money into your bank account under the guise of 'company expenses'. You know that you will not get caught...

What would the world be like if everyone everywhere did this???

Kant said that you have a moral duty to do the right thing all of the time. We can all use our reason to figure out the right action.

Kant called this the Categorical Imperative

Categorical: Something which applies in all situations. Without exception.

Imperative: Something which you must do.

The categorical imperative says that we should act in ways that we wish that every person would act.

Sound familiar to anyone?

Kant thought that we should always treat others as people - and not as stepping stones that can help us in some selfish way.

A Fancy Latin Phrase

The Categorical Imperative is a priori, meaning that we can see that something is true without having to experience it first.

DUTY: The Categorical Imperative is your moral duty.

REASON: We are able to use our reason to determine what is morally right.

Duty and Reason?

Copy the following..

Enlightenment: An 18thCentury philosophical movement based on human reason.

Categorical Imperative: Acting in such a way that where you consider what might happen if the principle of your action became a moral law for everyone.

Universal Law: A law that applies to all people.

Maxim: A principle or a rule.

A priori: The Categorical Imperative is a priori, meaning that we can see that something is true without having to experience it first.

Group Task:

Can you think of examples of universal rules that should apply to all people at all times? Make a list

Group Task

As a group, identify possible problems that you may come across with Kant's categorical imperative. Connect these problems with the rules you have just made.

Purple RMPS Book

Read p77 Answer the Qs

In your jotters...

Explain Kant’s theory on moral ethics Explain the term ‘categorical imperative’

A priori: This is a Latin phrase referring to facts that are independent of experience

So, if I attend a game of football, anything I know about the rules of football is a priori knowledge of how the game will be conducted.

Kantian Ethics

Rights and Responsibilities Collect a worksheet and read through it as a

group. Record answers in your jotter. Try to avoid saying “I need to make sure others

have the same right” as an answer. Consider carefully what your personal

responsibility is to do with this right.

The key principles of

Kantian ethics