Kantian Ethics Is Premised on Essay

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In this light, the individual is given emphasis in the senses that, if one individual's life is compromised, say in order to find a cure for a disease; Kantian ethics would heavily oppose this approach. Utilitarianism, on the other hand would accept the measure.

Both Kant's moral principles and his theory of human nature are designed only to add to our discontent with ourselves. For Kant, the task of philosophy is not to reconcile us to the human condition. Kant thinks that as rational creatures our condition must be on our dissatisfaction, self alienation and endless striving. Philosophy should not try to transcend that condition, but only to help us live with its inevitability and more importantly, to make progress in the painful tasks it sets us. To some this aim may seem unhealthy, perhaps even dangerous. From a Kantian standpoint, however, any other way of representing our condition appears complacent, cowardly and dishonest. (Wood, 1999: 334) Kant's interpretation human beings as arrogant, antagonistic, deluded and unhappy may merely be the way that facts of human life appear to someone who takes seriously the moral demand that people should act in accord with the laws of the community of ends in which all human beings are treated with equal dignity. In Kant's unflattering portrait of human nature it is easy enough to recognize ourselves as modern capitalism has made us. If our dismissal of his unflattering portrait is functioning as an apology for that system, then we should at least conceal from ourselves that that is what is going on. Something like this doubtless as important part of the appeal of the invidious images of Kantian ethics that focus on his extreme views about sex or his enlightened opinions about race and women. (Wood, 1999: 335)

The requisites of Kantian morality are radical. It is based morality solely on the idea of one's own rational will. Kantian principles advocated that all human beings as ends in themselves with absolute and hence equal worth.

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They demand that human beings unite their ends into a single, reciprocally supporting teleological systems or realm. The ideals of Kantian ethics are autonomy, equality and community.

In terms of contradictory duties, Kantian ethics require individuals to take into consideration of balancing out one's duties to the self and that of the community. This in my view is a weakness because it is difficult to compromise of upholding your interest if runs contrary to the majority's interest. The question that comes into mind is that which interest would emerge as the common good, would it be the individual or that of the majority. With this predicament, the individual is forced to make a choice. The individual is thus required to use reason to rationalize what ought to be done and with this exercise the individual would be enlightened to act in a certain manner that would fulfill the objective of balancing out the needs of the individual and that of the majority. Reason plays an integral role as individuals rationalize their contradictory duties.

Kant maintains that social antagonism and inequality belongs to human culture as long as it develops without a plan. In an age of enlightenment, the historical vocation of moral philosophy is to work toward an explicit formulation of the conscious, collective plan through which human beings are eventually to overcome natural discord between them. Kantian ethics is about social conflict natural to human beings and their rational striving toward unity and community. It is about the process of enlightenment enabling us to form the idea of the laws and principles of such community and about hope that gradually through historical progress of reason; we may overcome the conflict that is natural to us and make progress toward the ideal realm of ends on earth. (Gregor, 1991).....

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