Immanuel Kant And The Principle Of Morality - 1279 Words

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who argued that reason is the source of morality. He had a few categorical imperatives which consisted of universalizability, using people as an end in itself rather than as a means, and formulation of autonomy. In his imperative of universalizability, he strongly believed that an act is only morally right if it can be universalized and applied to every situation. For example, if it was morally right for someone to lie, then it should be morally right for everyone to lie. However, this would mean no one would believe anyone and therefore this would not work so lying cannot be universalized. In the imperative of using humanity as an ends, he believed that one should never use someone merely as a means†¦show more content†¦Random selection has no reason behind who gets treatment, and society would not benefit the most from this. Patients who may not respond to treatment could be selected and therefore more medical supplies would be wasted which isn t the greatest good. Individual prognosis of the chance of a treatment’s success would be better in the eyes of a utilitarian because it is better to provide medical supplies to patients who would actually benefit from it, rather on those whom might not respond to the treatment. Therefore, the greater good would be to use the medical rationing on people who need it and would benefit from it most, rather than those who would not. Alongside the success rate, another important factor utilitarians would like would be the quality of life the treatment ultimately gives a patient. If the quality of life is poor to the person who had received the treatment, not only did another person lose out on treatment but someone did not benefit and also wasted supplies. Therefore it’s a double loss and there is no greater utility which comes out of this situation. Utilitarians also agree that contributions to society must play a role in deciding who gets medical treatment. If someone had contributed greatly t o society and will continue to do so, they deserve treatment because this will lead to a greater utility for society. However, a criminal should not receive treatment because they do not provide anything beneficial to society and would likely commit moreShow MoreRelatedKantian Ethics And The Categorical Imperative Essay1581 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of Kantian Ethics and critiques In Elements of Pure Practical Reason Book, I, Immanuel Kant, a prominent late Enlightenment Era German philosopher discusses his most famous ethical theory, the â€Å"Categorical Imperative.† The â€Å"Categorical Imperative† is a proposed universal law in stating all humans are forbidden from certain actions regardless of consequences. Although this is the general definition of this ethical theory, the Categorical Imperative† exists in two above formulations, A strictRead MoreA Lie Is Not Moral Or Ethical Value1004 Words   |  5 Pagesdisrespectful. I believe, the purpose to a lie is achieving a goal at the expense of another. It holds no moral or ethical value. Human beings are entitled to be respect by others. A philosopher known as Immanuel Kant who established two rules called as categorical imperative under the deontology theory (Kant, 2008). Deontology is the obligation or duty to act (Mosser, 2013). 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