Essays on Immanuel

Kantianism is an ethical theory developed by the German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. The theory focuses on the correctness or wrongness of the actions themselves, as opposed to the correctness or wrongness of the consequences of those actions or the disposition of the actor (Holzhey and Mudroch 35). Kant's ethics further hold that people are bound to an ethical duty by universal ethical rules. Therefore, to act right in accordance with Kant's ethics would be motivated by appropriate universal principles that treat everyone as an end rather than just a mere means. The philosopher further asserts that being motivated by ...

Introduction

Ethics came from the Greek word ‘ethos,’ or character. In the modern context, ethics refer to the study of normative behavior. It is commonly understood as standards of behavior that ought to be followed under certain circumstances and the moral reasoning behind such actions. Ethics does not necessarily make people do good; nor is it an attribute that is only exclusive for good people. In fact, there are good people that exhibit unethical behavior, especially when under pressure. Professor and author, Denis Collins, for instance, observed that there are many good individuals who engage in unethical behavior because they ...

Essay

Immanuel Kant: Reason and Freedom Immanuel Kant argues that being purely objective or purely rational and being independently free are two peas in a pod. As Kant argued in his widely known book Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, all human beings possess what he refers to as 'the idea of freedom' (Pasternack, 2002, 12). He builds his concept of categorical imperatives-- in the absence of which responsibility and morality would cease to exist-- upon the speculated idea that freedom is an omnipresent concept. Kant claims that it is clearly not possible for people to envision themselves as 'un-free' ( ...

1. Answer: Mobile communication devices including different personal digital assistants are not limited to voice calls and short messages only. These devices can easily browse the internet and can use different types of utility and facility applications, such as viewing maps of a certain place, tracking other people via a GPS system and so on. A device with so many features certainly helps a person as well as the society to ease the lifestyle. On the other hand, bad people can use these features to harm other people. In the recent days 22nd July 2016, an eighteen-year-old guy attacked ...

Theoretical Essay

In the world of law punishment (alternative name – penalty) is considered as an “infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person for misdeed (i.e., the transgression of a law or command).”1 Penalty may take different forms and vary from forced labor, flogging, body mutilation, fines and imprisonment to the capital punishment. The punishment has been very retributive, mostly in the form of revenge, during the pre-modern ages and usually the prosecution was executed by the victims or their families. There was not any proportion between the quantity and quality of wrongdoing and the punishment. The ...

Mid Term Exam

Discuss the impact of the theories of Immanuel Kant, Charles Darwin and Jean-Paul Sartre on modernity.

Jean-Paul Sartre was flourished in Existentialism. He believed that a man acts in his free will in the society and time in which he lives. This philosophy inspired others to acknowledge their own free thinking and live the life they believed in. It broke the cookie cutter of what people were otherwise programmed to be and motivated others to break free in essence of their true self. It’s the true quest to fine a purpose in life. Because Jean Paul Sartre wrote and published many of his writings on Existentialism, his readers began to think ...

Organizations that behave ethically are more apt to earn the trust of their customers, employees, and stockholders and to have a reputation as successful, competent and responsible professionals. It is important that organizations follow strict guidelines aimed high standards of quality, reliable services, high professionalism, social responsibility and ethical behaviour it their activity – only that way they can bring benefits to their clients, staff members and shareholders. The main ethical principles that each organization must follow in its activity are decency (avoidance of illegal and unethical practices), honesty (the urge to be honest with themselves, team members, customers and ...

Immanuel Kant is one of the greatest Western philosophers of all time. His work has had a profound influence on those thinkers that came after him in many different areas. One of the most important of these spheres is ethics, where he attempted to develop a metaphysic of morals. In this sense, he did not wish to just determine what the correct and incorrect courses of action were, but to establish a theory that would serve to determine how one should act. He attempted to establish universal laws that would govern people’s behavior through reason. As such, he ...

Deontology is an ethical branch dealing with good activities, duties, and right obligations. It originated from a Greek word deon meaning duty. Abortion makes people take sides thus causing polarization of individuals, especially opportunists such as politicians and the liberals. Liberals and feminists use the utilitarian argument while politicians use the deontological positions. Deontological approach uses moral actions and duties to murder those practicing abortion. However, pregnancy interruption before birth is viewed from different angles and ethical conclusion from different perceptions are allowed from various rights and theories. Deliberate determination of pregnancy has been a discussion over the years. ...

Q.1 Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), a German philosopher, is known for his moral philosophical theories that define human behavior, moral standards or requirements and consequences of such behavior. Central to his deontological moral theories is the aspect of human reason which he argues is the source of morality and which should guide human conduct and experience. Referred as the Kantian ethics, these theories may be relevant in modern policing practices.

Kant’s Moral and Ethical Theories

Immanuel Kant developed the deontological moral theory through which he argued that the decision as to what is right or wrong, that is ethical, with reference to human actions, ...

Immanuel Kant stance on ethics is remarkable, as it pays no heed to the consequences of an action arguing that there exist particular objective rules that can be discovered by reasoning beings. The categorical imperative is simply an expression of this. Such theories are called “deontological” ethical theories; the root of the word is derived from the Greek word “deon” that means duty. Therefore, the categorical imperative states that people have a duty to act in particular ways according to moral laws. Kant’s categorical imperative pays a greater emphasis on the intent of an action as opposed to ...

The idea that humanity can be sure of the knowledge that it has is generally taken for granted. Skeptics have pointed out that it is, in fact, impossible to know reality in any significant way and be relatively sure that this knowledge is legitimate. Since this argument was made, philosophers have attempted to overcome the need to establish some basis for knowledge that they could be sure of. While those such as Descartes used pure reason in order to come to some basic conception of reality, thinkers such as Locke and Kant focused primarily on empirical knowledge in order ...

Bierstadt used light and shadow in a masterly fashion, which made his painting an extremely dramatic. Incredible contrasts reveal magnificent natural environment and its immense beauty made Bierstadt’s pictures popular. The viewer can easily determine three spaces of the artwork: The foreground is the nearest area to the viewer on the right part of the picture. This part shows a hunting scene of the Indians pursuing deer with horses and dogs. Still nearer on the right the mountain spring is visible, next to which a carcass of deer and some human items were left. At some distance three ...

Introduction

Surrealist is the work of art that has its roots in the early 1920s it was aimed at creating a connection between what most people referred to as dreams and fantasies to the reality. Surrealist work of art was designed to create a bridge between the conscious and the unconscious features of experiences to build absolute reality from primary imagination. Surrealist work of art developed from psychological processes and not any logical and rational process. Surrealist work art was aimed at establishing an evaluation of psychic characteristics (Barr, Alfred Hamilton, and Georges Hugnet). To develop psychic responses in the ...

Proponents of utilitarianism envision a situation where human actions are judged by their consequences. According to Bentham, the best moral action must always maximize utility. Simply put, actions should ensure they bring about the greatest happiness among human beings. An action that does not promote happiness among people therefore does not meet this threshold. Bentham further argues that such actions must involve the two aspects of happiness; quality and quantity. Consequences, therefore, not legality, should form the basis of justification of actions by humans. Stuart Mill supports this proposition by arguing that bringing or increasing pleasure among humans should ...

Human Rights and Obligation

There is a sheer need to balance out rights and obligation in the Australian context. Human beings have the basic urge to demand their own rights, but when it come to provide rights to other, the attitude remains indifferent. Citizens should be made aware of the notion that with every kind of benefit, it comes a sense of responsibility. Human rights are the rights inherent to all people equally irrespective of their caste, creed, race, sex, nationality, religion or any other status. Every human being is entitled to human rights without any discrimination. These rights are indivisible, interdependent and ...

The Age of Enlightenment is also commonly referred to as the Age of Reason. It lasted from 1650 to 1800. Many agree that the cause of Enlightenment was the Thirty Year War (1618-1648) though it was only an outcrop of many underlying issues that faced Europe at the time (Broner, 122). It came to an end during the French revolution. It is such wars that motivated German philosophers and authors to criticize the idea of nationalism and wars to protect nationhood. The German authors included Hugo Grotius and John Cornenius, who were the pioneers of the ideas that formed ...

Laws are established in a country so as to maintain order in the community. Laws are mainly written by leaders and failure to follow the laws leads to punishment by law enforcers or the judicial department. One may wonder whether or not citizens should follow the law without any objections. The obedience and lawbreaking issues appear to be a crucial issue in the real world as people struggle with enforcing and obeying laws stipulated in various institutions or nations. Some famous philosophers such as Socrates have played a significant role in the world of philosophy. Socrates defined and considered ...

Introduction Utilitarianism is a principle that the moral worth of an action is determined by its usefulness in maximizing utility and minimizing negative utility. Utility is the pleasure, preference satisfaction and knowledge. The moral worth of an action is determined by its outcome. In this study we are going to compare Mill, John Stuart’s work 'Utilitarianism’ and Kant, Immanuel’s work 'Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals.' The study will also come up with findings based on the comparisons if the end justifies the means. John Mill’s account on Utilitarianism is primarily influenced by Jeremy Bentham ...

Happiness is a state which many strive for; some achieve it and others don’t. However, the means and ways of attaining happiness are varied and can often involve questionable ethics. For instance, by taking an ecstasy pill, the side effect is to feel happy and as if you love everyone and everything; however, the purchasing of such a drug is illegal and the money goes into the drug trade which has links to countless un-ethical associations. It is also an unsustainable state which wears off after a few hours, so is that really happiness anyway? The pursuit of happiness is man’ ...

Immanuel Kant is well known for his development of moral philosophy, particularly about his conception of reason. His scope in practical affairs goes beyond Hume’s philosophy, which is governed mainly by passion. David Hume argued that an individual’s “sentiments and affections” not reason, is what leads us to our actions. In other words someone may act in a certain manner hoping that that is a moral act but to another different person it is absolutely immoral this is because people’s affection on a given phenomena varies. Hence, according to Hume what is right in certain person may be wrong ...