Immanuel Kants Ethics Of Pure Duty Essay Example For Students

Immanuel Kants Ethics Of Pure Duty Essay Immanuel Kants Ethics Of Pure DutyIn Comparison To John Stuart Mills Utilitarian Ethics Of JusticeImmanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill are philosophers who addressed the issues of morality in terms of how moral traditions are formed. Immanuel Kant has presented one viewpoint in The Grounding For The Metaphysics of Morals that is founded on his belief that the worth of man is inherent in his ability to reason. John Stuart Mill holds another opinion as presented in the book, Utilitarianism that is seemingly in contention with the thoughts of Kant. What is most distinctive about the ethics of morality is the idea of responsibilities to particular individuals. According to Kant and Mill, moral obligations are not fundamentally particularistic in this way because they are rooted in universal moral principles. Mill and Kant are both philosophers whom have made great impact on their particular fields of philosophy and a critique of their theories in relation to each other may help develop a b etter understanding to them and their theories individually. Mills utilitarianism theory is a version of the ideal judgment theory. So is Kants, but there are differences. Mill holds an empiricist theory while Kant holds a rationalist theory. Kant grounds morality in forms that he believes, are necessary to free and rational practical judgment, namely his deontological ethics. Mills utilitarian theory is a form of consequentialism because the rightness or wrongness of an act is determined by the consequences. Thus, deontologicalism and consequentialism are the main criticisms for both these theories. Kants ethics of pure duty is the basis for his categorical imperative, which provides the basis for his universalist duty based theory. Mills theory of utilitarianism is a primary form of consequentialism. Both deontologicalism and consequentialism are valid points of argument to the ethics of an action but they are also argumentative towards each other. Mill, in his later work, On Liberty, adds deontologicalism to correct his consequentialist vie w. John Stuart Mill, who made utilitarianism the subject of one of his philosophical treatise Utilitarianism (1863), is the most proficient defender of this doctrine after Jeremy Bentham. His contribution to the theory consists in his recognition of distinctions of quality, in addition to those of intensity, among pleasures. Thus, whereas Bentham maintained that the quality of pleasure being equal, push-pin is as good as poetry, Mill contended that it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied, that is, human discontent is better than animal fulfillment. Or more clearer stated as better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied, as the fool would only be of a different opinion because he did not know both sides of the question. By this statement, Mill seems to have rejected the identification of the concept happiness with pleasure and the absence of pain and the concept unhappiness with pain and the absence of pleasure, as found in Benthams works. Althou gh his position was based on the maximization of happiness, he distinguished between pleasures that are higher and lower in quality. Mills principle of utility or the greatest happiness principle seeks for the logical rationality of ethics through the consequences of actions as the consideration determining their morality, thus the acquisition of happiness as opposed to the avoidance of pain. Utilitarianism may be viewed as an instance of a more general theory of right consequentialism, which holds that right and wrong can only be assessed by the goodness of consequences. This general kind of theory can perhaps be most easily understood by considering the form of consequentialism. Consequentialism is that an act is right if, of those available to the agent at the time, it would produce the greatest overall net value in the end. Utilitarian views are based around the concept of attaining happiness and Mill maintains hedonism; happiness or pleasure is the only intrinsic good for perso ns. Mill believes, that a hedonist should, maintain that pleasures involving cultivated intellectual, emotional, and imaginative faculties are intrinsically better. In Mills utilitarian theory, he holds that there are qualitative pleasures as well as quantitative. Hedonism shows that the intellectual pleasures are better pleasures because they are in better quality than those of purely extrinsic value. Kant sees this distinction and goes on to explain that a numerical value cannot be placed on something that has intrinsic value. His ethical theory has been more influential than his work in epistemology and metaphysics. Most of Kants work on ethics is presented in two works, The Grounding For The Metaphysics of Morals (1785) and The Critique of Practical Reason (1787).Kantian theory on morality is stated in terms of his ethics of pure duty. What is the duty that motivates our actions and gives them moral value? Kant distinguishes two kinds of law produced by reason. Kant believes that rational agents are moral agents, that every moral agent has the same ability as any other and therefore must be given consideration and respect. Hence, moral agents cannot be instrumentalized to reach an end but are ends in themselves. Given some end we wish to achieve, reason provides a hypothetical imperative, or rule of action for achieving that end. A hypothetical imperative says that if you wish to buy a new house, then you must determine what sort of houses are available for purchase. Deriving a means to achieve some desi red end is the most common use of reason. Lady Macbeth's Ambition Leads to Her Destruction in Shakespeare's Macbeth EssayCritics of utilitarianism argue that morality is not based on consequences of actions, as utilitarians believe, but is instead based on the foundational and universal concepts of justice. Mill sees this as the strongest argument against utilitarianism, and thus sees the concept of justice as a test case for utilitarianism. Therefore, if Mill can explain the concept of justice in terms of utility, then he has addressed the main deontologicalist or non-consequentialist argument against utilitarianism. Mill offers two counter arguments in defense of utilitarianism. Mill first argues that all moral elements in the notion of justice depend on social utility. There are two essential elements in the notion of justice: punishment, and the notion that someones rights were violated. Punishment is derived from a combination of vengeance and social sympathy. However, vengeance alone has no moral component, and socia l sympathy is the same as social utility. The notion of the violation of rights is also derived from utility because rights are claims we have on society to protect us, and the only reason society should protect us is because of social utility. Thus, both elements of justice such as punishment and rights are based on utility. Mills second argument is that if justice were as foundational as non-consequentialists contend it to be, then justice would not be as ambiguous as it is. According to Mill, there are disputes in the notion of justice when examining theories of punishment, fair distribution of wealth, and fair taxation. These disputes can only be resolved by appealing to utility. Mill concludes that justice is a genuine concept, but that we must see it as based on utility. Mills counter arguments in defense of utilitarianism against Kants ethics of pure duty and criticisms seem to be begging the question so to speak. In Mills second argument states that because the notion of justice is so ambiguous that that is the reason behind the hindrances behind the other social theories. However, what he fails to recognize is that if one does not define justice in an ambiguous way and defines the notion of justice in a clear fashion, that in itself would be an injustice. That argument simply goes against him and reinforces Kants beliefs because to define justice in terms of utility would be to subjugate every individual to being the same. With Aristotles definition of justice as being harmony in the soul, to define justice in terms of utility would be to give sum ranking to the individuals. Harmony in the soul as a definition of justice means that justice is different for everyone because every individual holds different beliefs and values. Mill later on concedes his consequentialist views and adds deontologicalism in his later work On Liberty. In normative ethics, an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce the reverse of happiness, but not just the happiness of the performer of the action but also that of everyone affected by it. Utilitarianism also differs from ethical theories that make the rightness or wrongness of an act dependent upon the motive of the agent because according to the utilitarian, it is possible for the right thing to be done from a bad motive. Mill sought to show that utilitarianism is compatible with moral rules and principles relating to justice, honesty, and truthfulness by arguing that utilitarians should not attempt to calculate whether a specific action would maximize utility before the action is performed. Mill says that they should instead be guided by the fact that an action falls under a general principle such as we should keep our promises and that adherence to that general principle will increase happiness. For Mill, only under special circumstances is it necessary to consider whether an exception may have to be made but in Kantian retrospect, this makes it hypothetical rather than categorical and therefore, not moral. Kants end in itself formulation leads to us to treat rational nature, whether in our own person, or in that of others, always as an end and never simply as a means. Since will is the distinction of rational beings to all else, we may take this direction to always respecting the will of others. However, Kant cannot expect that we never act contrary to someones will because this could not be followed in a situation where wills conflict. It might be closer to Kants idea to interpret him as requiring persons always to respect others as capable of acting for principles, and thus ably prepared to restrain our actions towards others if they or we could not will our maxim to be universal law. BibliographyMill, John Stuart, Utilitarianism, Hackett Publishing Company Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979, Original Publication, 1861Kant Immanuel, Grounding For The Metaphysics Of Morals, Third Edition, Hackett Publishing Company Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1993, Original Publication, 1785