Kant explains that there are three motivations for human beings to extend actions of good will to others. First of all, Kant argues that the first motivation for action of good will is the idea of duty. There are people who believe that they have a responsibility to society of extending good will to members of those societies (Chafee 287).These people do not extend goodwill with the aim of obtaining anything from it. These people do not have interior motives for their actions. A good example is the case of the military giving up their lives to protect their nations. Members of the military are not out to acquire any status or personal heroism but are there to serve their people.
The second reason why people extend actions of good will is because of their immediate inclination. There are people who just feel a sense of enjoyment in doing actions of good to society. A good example in this case would be people who give their wealth and money to serve the needy in society. These people enjoy when they see needy people succeed and arise from the problems that they face. Therefore, people who give their wealth towards charity would fall under this category.
The last category of why some people do good deeds to society because they feel that this might be a means to an end (Wiesing 225). For example, politicians might give their money to charity and other needy people in society so that they can be elected in subsequent elections. This shows clearly that these kinds of people do not extend good will to society purely from their hearts but they expect something in return.
Works Cited
Chaffee, John. The philosopher's way: a text with readings: thinking critically about profound ideas. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
Wiesing, Urban. "Immanuel Kant, His Philosophy and Medicine." Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 11.2 (2008): 221-236. Print.
