Kant & Moral Duty 

EMP (21 pages)

• Kantian Ethics and the Basis of Duty (Lucas), pp. 165-169; from Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (Kant), pp. 171-181; A Simplified Account of Kantian Ethics (O’Neill), pp. 183-187.

CSME (7 pages)

• Aviano EA-6B Gondola Mishap (Slyman), pp. 115 -121, 233 - 234. 

1-Page Point Paper

• Pick 1 of the 3 Case Studies

– The Christmas Party, p 177

– Flex Deck Ops, p 179

– Missiles: Ready to Fire, p 181

• Use prescribed format

– In Handout from 1st Class, or

– Format posted on unit Website

• One page ONLY

• Shows your ability to communicate salient points and make recommendations in a powerful, concise document

• 5 points toward final grade

Extreme Measures

…and your rebuttal?

Utilitarianism (review)

• The Principle of Utility (GHP) is a good example of most of these provisions…

– Gives clear answers, helps resolve many problems, explains and justifies our intuitions

– But the Extreme Measures story, or “shoot the prisoners” dilemma, illustrate issues (like justice, fairness, and rights) which are not sufficiently addressed

Chapter I….

Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals 

Good Will

Reason

Duty

Rational Beings

Self Discipline

Acting on Universal Principle

Kant for Fighter Pilots

Kant Brainstorm

Kant Definition

Kant’s direct swipes…

• At Utilitarianism

– “A good will is not good because of what it effects or accomplishes…it is good in the willing alone…”

• At Aristotelian Virtues

– “Intelligence, courage, resolution, determination…are good in many respects, but they can be bad or hurtful when the will is not good…” (see Adolph Hitler)

Kant’s Contrasting Strategy

• Morality seems to consist in various law-like principles, obligations, that limit our freedom

– “I ought…” (duty) versus I want…” (desire) 

• The “Morally Good Will” (person of good character, integrity) 

– recognizes the moral law as his own self-imposed limitations on individual freedom for the sake of all

• Human beings have moral dignity because of this power of reason to regulate their behavior 

– unlike mere animals, we don’t just “have desires” or impulses and act on them, we also have AUTONOMY (the capacity for self-governance)

• Morality is an expression of that autonomy, it is “self-governance”

Kant: the “Supreme Principle” 

of Morality

If we ask for the essential characteristic defining moral goodness or worth, we find: 

– An action has “moral worth” if 

• it conforms to the requirements of duty, and 

• is done for the sake of duty 

(…and not for some other motive); 

                                     and 

– A person is morally good (“good will”) if 

• he or she can be counted on to do his/her duty, 

motivated solely by a respect or reverence for the moral law 

(rather than consideration of some other, variable principle).

What is “Duty?”

– Main Entry: 

• 1du•ty   

– Pronunciation: 

• \ˈdü-tē also ˈdyü-\ 

– Function: 

• noun 

– Inflected Form(s): 

• plural duties 

– Etymology: 

• Middle English duete, from Anglo-French deueté, dueté, from deu due 

– Date: 

• 13th century 

– 1: conduct due to parents and superiors : respect2 a: obligatory tasks, conduct, service, or functions that arise from one's position (as in life or in a group) b (1): assigned service or business (2): active military service (3): a period of being on duty3 a: a moral or legal obligation b: the force of moral obligation4: tax ; especially : a tax on imports5 a: work

You Make the Call…

A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. 

There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. 

The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. 

The sick woman's husband went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $ 1,000. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." 

So the husband got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug-for his wife. 

                   Should the husband have done that? 

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

Some Notes on this Conclusion

This does NOT mean that someone who does the “right” thing for the “wrong” reasons is acting wrongly, only that their action is not praiseworthy.  

…It merely means they get no “extra credit.”

Kant allows that this confluence of actions and personal motivations is unusual.  

He wonders whether, on these criteria, there has ever been a truly “morally good will” in the world!

Our duty presents itself to us in the form of “imperatives” (commands) that are absolute and binding.

…i.e., categorical (no exceptions or excuses)

Terms to Know

• Categorical Imperative (CI)

– “Unconditional Obligation”

– “No alibi, must comply”

• Maxim

– Fundamental principle you act upon

– Rule of conduct

• Deontological Ethics

– Based on Moral Obligation 

Observations about Categorical Imperatives (CIs)

 CI’s derive their authority from within 

– from the rational impulse to obey the dictates of Reason itself 

(as an expression of my autonomy)

 CI’s command absolutely, unconditionally, “no ifs, ands or buts” 

(no strings attached) 

 CI’s are universal, unconditional, NOT subject to variation or change

 Duty and the institution of morality are like this

(Must comply- no alibi)

 “Do this, whether you want to or not, whether you can be made to or not, whether anyone will notice, reward, praise, or blame you (or not).”

Categorical Imperative (CI1):

Formula of Universal Law

• CI1 – Formula of Universal Law:

“Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” 

Translation:

1. Can I universalize my act without contradiction?

Kant’s 4 illustrations:

• Do not harm the self (suicide)

• Do not harm or deceive others (lying)

• Do what is good for the self (develop your talents)

• Do what is good for others (beneficence)

Categorical Imperative (CI2) 

Formula of the End in Itself

• CI2 – Formula of the End in Itself

“Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.” 

Consider Kant’s 4 illustrations, 

from the perspective of the “agent” 

(i.e., the person undertaking the action) 

rather than action:

– Do not harm the self (suicide)

– Do not harm or deceive others (lying)

– Do what is good for the self (develop your talents)

– Do what is good for others (beneficence)

The “Categorical Imperative Procedure” (CI3)

• CI3 - “The Kingdom of Ends” – Reason is both the source of moral law (legislator) and subject of the law (citizen). 

• Accordingly: “Act always as if you were, through your maxims, a lawmaking member of the moral community, bound to obey the laws you impose upon yourself and others”

Translation:

Can this act become a binding moral law for all of us (…including you)?

Categorical Imperatives

False Promise: Using Test One 

Bad Samaritan: 

Using Tests One and Two 

Can I, or Kant I?

Weighing “Intent” & “Consequence:” 

A Legal Example

• First Degree Murder

– Intent and consequence

• Attempted Murder

– Intent, no consequence

• Negligent Homicide

– Consequence, no intent

Would you do it? 

What would Kant do?

Universal Principle

• Suppose…

– IED Victim

• Horrific Burns

• Brain damage

• Coma

• Life support

– $1,000,000 life insurance policy

Observations about Categorical Imperatives (CIs)

 CI’s derive their authority from within 

– from the rational impulse to obey the dictates of Reason itself 

(as an expression of my autonomy)

 CI’s command absolutely, unconditionally, “no ifs, ands or buts” 

(no strings attached) 

 CI’s are universal, unconditional, NOT subject to variation or change

 Duty and the institution of morality are like this

(Must comply- no alibi)

 “Do this, whether you want to or not, whether you can be made to or not, whether anyone will notice, reward, praise, or blame you (or not).”

Goods and Others…

Kantian  Ethics

Strengths

• Realm of duty, free from utility (Woo-hoo! no math involved!)

• Respect for persons

• Golden rule – do unto others, expressed in rational terms

• Reason based

Weaknesses

• Hyper-rationality and lack of emotion

• The irrelevance of inclination

• Overly formal and universal

– i.e., most of our duties are in social roles

• Inflexibility

• Supererogation

Aviano EA-6B

Gondola Mishap

The Case

• Aircrew

• Flight

• Immediate Aftermath

• Aviano 4-8 Feb

• Cherry Point 4-8 Feb

• The Tape

• The Sequel

Lead in to Virtue Ethics

• How does Kant account for heroism?

– Is it our duty to go “beyond the call of duty?”

• Wouldn’t celibacy be immoral

– Couldn’t will it to be a universal law

(…not for long, anyway)

• Which person is more moral?

• A pirate who returns a wallet

• A priest who returns a wallet

Recap CI-procedure

CI1 =   formula of “universal law”

Make it law… without any loopholes

CI2 = “respect for persons principle”

People as ends not means

CI3 = “Kingdom of Ends”

You are bound to obey the laws you make… for the Good of the Community

Kant portrays the first two as derivations from the third, which attempts to portray the moral situation of a free, rational individual within a democratic society.

 Reading for Next Class

Aristotle : Character & Virtue Ethics

• EMP (27 pages)

– Aristotle and the Ethics of Virtue and Character (Lucas), 169-172; The Moral Virtues (Aristotle), 173-178; Habit and Virtue (Aristotle), 179-182; Courage (Aristotle), 183-186; Friendship, (Aristotle), 187-190; Warriors: Reflections on Men in Battle (Gray), 191-193. 

• CSME (5 pages)

– CWO Hugh W. Thompson at My Lai (Lucas), pp. 95-98; Hugh Thompson; The Sequel (Lucas), pp. 2227.