Kantian Ethics: Duty, Categorical Imperative, and Autonomy
The Duty
Formal ethics merely indicates how we should act morally. According to Kant, a man acts morally when acting out of duty. Kant distinguishes three types of actions: contrary to duty, in accordance with duty, and done out of duty. Only the latter has moral value. Duty is rooted in one’s own rational will; from that point of view, there is nothing morally good or bad except a bad will. A good will is present when one acts out of duty. Respect for the subject is given by the same law; one will act according to a higher, autonomous law. This maxim that is given by good will is universal. Kant calls this instruction the categorical imperative.
The Categorical Imperative
The categorical imperative commands the action itself, without any condition. Only the categorical imperative has moral value. Kant offered various formulations of the categorical imperative. The first is: “Act only on a maxim that you can at the same time will to become a universal law.” If men are capable of giving themselves these moral laws, it’s because we are autonomous and not heteronomous.
Consequences of Human Autonomy
- Dignity: A human being has unique self-worth, which is priceless; that is dignity.
- Good Will: What is morally good is to have a good will.
- The Supreme Good: Good will is moral goodness, but the union of moral goodness and happiness is the supreme good.
Freedom, Immortality, and God’s Existence
The Critique of Pure Reason had demonstrated the impossibility of metaphysics as a science, as knowledge of the world, of the soul, and of God. Now, the soul and God are questions of fundamental interest for man. Kant never denied the immortality of the soul and the existence of God. He simply established that the soul and God are not phenomena that occur in experience, so scientific knowledge of them is not affordable. God and the soul are imposed on us in the analysis of practical reason. Freedom, the immortality of the soul, and the existence of God are nominated postulates of practical reason, something that is unprovable, but that is, of course, necessary.
Ethical Formalism
News
Kantian formalism continues in authors such as Hare, Kohlberg, and Apel. The latter two emphasize communication. Habermas states that a rule becomes justified only when it can be agreed upon by all those who are affected by it. John Rawls exhibited that fair rules and principles are those that we would choose if we knew what place we would occupy in society.
Personal Vision
Kantian formalism shows its limitations when there is a conflict of duties, and also where breaching a duty leads to positive consequences. Therefore, it seems necessary to complete the formal appeal to universalism with other elements.
Link to Other Philosophical Positions
There is no precedent for ethical formalism. Kant confronts all previous ethical formulations. The authors controversially aligned with Kantian morality would be Plato, Aristotle, Christian ethics, Hume, and Nietzsche. He opposes current hedonism, consequentialism, utilitarianism, and moral relativism.
The Ethics of Values
An Alternative to Formalism
Max Scheler criticizes Kantian formalism and offers as an alternative a material ethics of values. According to Scheler, Kant erred in believing that we only have two types of faculties: reason and sensibility. As morality requires universality, Kant is forced to resort to reason. However, according to Scheler, our spirit is not confined to the pair of sensitivity and reason.