Kantian deontology Key Words Learning objective: To know the key features of deontological ethics To understand the social, historical and cultural background of Kant’s deontological ethics To understand what kind of statements Kant believed to be moral statements To understand why Kant believes we should act morally Key Words Enlightenment A priori Synthetic Analytic deontological

What is the difference? Teleological theories Deontological theories

Deontological or teleological? A Do not drink and drive B Do not accept sweets from strangers C Do not take unnecessary risks D Always obey your superiors E Do not kill F Avenge wrongs done to you G Tell the truth H Never tell a lie except to an enemy I Love thy neighbour as thyself J Be ruled by your conscience K Never trust a traitor L Do not eat pork M Do not steal N Do not get caught stealing O Do as you would be done by Deontological or teleological?

What are some of the problems with consequentialist ethical theories like utilitarianism?

Immanuel Kant The most influential deontological theory was devised by Immanuel Kant. He was an enlightenment thinker.

‘Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing wonder and awe…the starry heaven above and the moral law within.’ Kant Critique of Pure Reason (1788)

Kant thought… There exists an objective moral law Humans know this moral law through reason Moral rules exist and are binding Importance of duty To act morally is to do one’s duty. To do one’s duty is to obey the moral law Humans should not act out of love, compassion or inclination but only out of duty.

Key definitions Analytic vs synthetic (the way in which things are true) Analytic statements are true or false by virtue of the meaning of the words Synthetic statements are true or false in virtue of the way the world is.

Analytic or Synthetic? Swans are white The current prime minister is mortal. All ophthalmologists are doctors. All doctors who specialise in eyes are doctors. Hitler's behaviour to the Jews was evil. Two plus two equals four. God exists. A triangle has three sides. If Jenny killed Felicity, then Felicity is dead. If Jenny killed Felicity, Jenny is angry.

A priori vs a posteriori are about how we come to know things Things are known a priori if they are known through reason alone Things are known a posteriori if they are known through sense experience.

The World and Morality Read page 55 – top of 56 and summarise in 6 bullets only. According to Kant, moral decisions are… a priori synthetic – they can be deduced from inner reasoning rather than by reference to the external world but they are true in virtue of the way the world is (i.e. They could have been otherwise)

List all possible motivations that this man could have for helping the woman.

Read page 56 - 57 of the Bowie handout on DLS to find out what Kant’s answer was to why we should act in a morally good way.

Kant distinguishes between autonomy and heteronomy Kant distinguishes between autonomy and heteronomy. Autonomy (‘self-governance’) is true freedom; it consists in obeying a law that I give myself, namely the law of morality determined by reason. Heteronomy arises when the will is subject to any authority external to oneself and one’s reason. For Kant, ethical theories that ground morality in the will of God, natural law, or human psychology, are heteronomous, since they subject the will to something external to itself. Equally, acting merely on inclination (what we want to do) is heteronomy rather than autonomy.

Of these three, who is the most free Of these three, who is the most free? What do you think – what would Kant think? Jane has just arrived at university. She is not much interested in studies, and spends her time sleeping in, partying heavily, and generally doing whatever she feels like doing. Jane says she enjoys the freedom of doing whatever he wants. Jill has also just arrived at university. She is not much interested in studies either, but works hard because she knows she ought to. She also volunteers at the weekend in a homeless shelter, and generally helps others, often at great inconvenience to herself. She does not seem very happy. Joan has also just begun her university course. She loves study, enjoys helping people, and has a great time. She does what she does because she loves it.

There is arguably a cultural tendency to see the first as more free There is arguably a cultural tendency to see the first as more free. Yet for Kant, freedom is most clearly manifest in the second case, since someone is acting out of duty despite inclination. Autonomy, for Kant, is not about acting on inclination, but acting out of rational will.

Exploring the Good Will Read page 126-127 from Michael Palmer’s ‘Moral Problems’ Discuss the example of the grocer.

SUMMARY Kantian ethics: Based on reason, not intuition Moral person = rational person Being good = having good will Good will is doing your duty for duty’s sake To act out of duty is to perform actions that are morally obligatory and not performing those that are forbidden

For example, two moral rules might be: Kant’s system has been criticised for not allowing exceptions to the rule and for failing to address conflicts between moral rules. For example, two moral rules might be: ‘I have a duty to be conscientious in my work’ and ‘I will not engage in any work that harms others.’ A conflict might arise if the computer firm I work for asks me to develop a programme to spy on people’s emails. Can you think of similar situations where moral rules come into conflict?