English Final Essay

Submitted By boodahloodah
Words: 424
Pages: 2

A famous philosopher of the eighteenth century, Immanuel Kant was a deontologist who characterized humankind by reason and autonomy, or self-governance. In life, there is only one thing that is always and everywhere good. This is a good will, when one chooses to act in accordance with a universal law. With a good will, one must acknowledge the two types of imperatives: hypothetical and categorical. While the hypothetical imperative is non-morally attached to an end result, more important to Kant is following the categorical imperative without exception or regard to an end result. Through the categorical imperative, one should act only according to that maxim which he/she can will to become a universal law. Regarding Chuck and his moral dilemma, Kant would certainly agree with launching the inflatable and capturing the illegal immigrants. While Chuck contemplates the worst-case scenario of inflating the raft, Kant would shun the captain for relying on a hypothetical imperative. In fulfilling the categorical imperative and doing his job, Chuck eliminates the idea that anyone in his position can allow an enemy of the state to enter the United States because of their age of size. If everyone were to do so, then the chances of a dangerous terrorist sneaking into the country could skyrocket. While Chuck may ethically object to such a tough decision, lying to the Coast Guard by deeming the sand bar as an impediment would be morally wrong ias well.

Much different from Kantian ethics, Utilitarianism is an ethical system established by Jeremy Bentham and simplified by his student, John Stuart Mill. A teleologist of the late early nineteenth century, Mill stayed true to the premise that nature has placed man under the