In the view of 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804), all individuals possess a “rational free will” and are capable of recognizing the three pillars of morality — God, freedom, and immortality — and acting accordingly with them. Kant recognizes that every intended deed is purposeful and selected by its commissioner. According to ...
The word deontology comes from the root “deon” meaning “duty.” By definition it suggests that we are obligated to live by certain rules that dictate what is right and what is wrong. Deontologists accept these rules freely and don’t look at the consequences of specific acts but the nature of the acts themselves. In accepting ...
Immanuel Kant was a great philosopher of his time and continues to be an influential figure in the realm of theology and epistemology. Additionally, he is one of the latter philosophers of the Enlightment. He challenged the structure of reason by expanding the traditional thoughts on metaphysics – not only by the formulation of moral ...
Arthur Schopenhauer’s ethical theory contends that compassion is the basis for ethics. He disregards reason as a means of determining morality; he condemns ethical theories, such as that of Immanuel Kant, that prescribe reason as the means to understanding ethics. Schopenhauer accepts reason only as an instrument to fulfill the ethical goals instilled by compassion. ...
Immanuel Kant was an influential philosopher that placed moral worth in the good intentions of a person in performing an action rather than the consequences of the action — such ethics that appeal to duty and obligation rather than practical concerns are known as deontological ethics. The moral law that all objective reasoning would lead ...
When a choice is made, often the question is asked: “was it the right decision?”. For thousands of years, humans have struggled with the idea of the morality of their actions. This has resulted in a multitude of belief systems regarding the nature of actions. In the system of Utilitarianism, the ends justify the means, ...
In 1785 Immanuel Kant published his writing Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals. Within his work is his theory known as the Categorical Imperative. This theory is very straightforward and not as hard to grasp as some other ethical philosophies can be. To use the Categorical Imperative, one simply creates maxims. A maxim is ...
Act as if the principle of your action were to become by your will a universal law of nature (Rohmann, 1999). This idea really sums up Immanuel Kant‘s view of ethics. Kant surmised that ethical decisions should be focused on the motive for the decision rather than the benefits or rewards of the action. In ...
Thomas Hobbes wrote his flagship piece, Leviathan, in 1651, during the height of the English Civil war. The political turmoil of the time, coupled with the heightened faith in rationality inherent to the Age of Reason, inspired Hobbes to articulate the first of the social-contract-based political philosophies, and to advocate a strong Monarchy with centralized ...
According to the 18th-century German thinker Immanuel Kant, no person may possess inherent wisdom about reality. This is best summarized in the philosopher’s famous expression, “Thoughts without content are empty; intuitions without data are blind.” Indeed, Kant believes that in order for us to utilize our sensible intuition, we must possess two stimuli, “physical sensation” ...
