Kant's Non-Consequentialist Theory

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Are happiness and prosperity the only driving forces that push humans to come to a means of action? According to Kant, the reasoning behind one’s motive should be decided on by good will. “Good will acts out of respect for the moral law, not to receive reward, avoid punishment or criticism, or for any other self-serving motive” (Kant). In this essay, the non-consequentialist theory will be covered along with correlating views encompassing the theory. The example we were given about AIDS is a situation where one can follow along with Kantian ethics, and choose the non-consequentialist theory; one can also lean towards the consequentialist theory. According to Kant, an immoral act is portrayed as one in which desires and emotions surmount moral duty. The given example states that the prospective subjects will be unaware and somewhat deceived about the fact of the risk of side effects. This undoubtably goes against Kant’s ethical code on the issue of immorality. According to our notes on Kantian ethics, “An immoral act is one in which desire overcomes duty.” In order for the situation to be a morally worthy act, the doctors conducting the research would have to be completely honest about the terms and conditions of the arrangement. Stating that the risks are negligent when they indeed are not would be considered to be an immoral act. Although sacrificing those few …show more content…
Humans alone are the only rational beings that are capable of good will. This constrains us to have to act out of respect to others; furthermore, we have varying non-rational inclinations such as our emotions and desires. While these virtues are valuable, they hold no moral worth. Emotions will get the best of oneself if he is not careful, because emotion and desire are selfish. Kant states that these virtues point towards the less than absolutely good side of the scale; in contrast, compassion focuses on the happiness of

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between members of different cultures. According to Crane Matten (2007), non-consequentialist ethical theories have two main types, which include ethics of duties and ethics of rights and justice. For ethics of duties, the important element is Kant’s theories. Kant present an important theoretical framework, called the “categorical imperative”. Basically, this framework can be applied to every universal moral issue. Although Kant’s categorical imperative is very philosophical idea, it is applied to understand…

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encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Kantian ethics refers to a deontological ethical theory ascribed to the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. The theory, developed as a result of Enlightenment rationalism, is based on the view that the only intrinsically good thing is a good will; an action can only be good, therefore, if its maxim – the principle behind it – is duty to the moral law. Central to Kant's construction of the moral law is the categorical imperative, which acts on all people, regardless…

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Utilitarian’s are consequentialists, who are exactly what they sound like; they focus on holding consequences for any and all actions. They do this by weighing out the consequences and taking important considerations of all actions being considered. Basically utilitarians ethical theories are almost the complete opposite of Immanuel Kant’s philosophical views. Just in keeping in the specific area of debate on taking a life, utilitarians…

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