how deontological theory of Kant solve Delima discussed in the movie Million Dollar Baby

1. DEONTOLOGICAL
THEORY OF KANT
Emmanuel Kant

2. GROUP MEMBERS
Muhammad
Sohaib Arshad
Junaid Ijaz
Hafiz Umer
Farooq
Amjad Ali

3. MILLION DOLLAR BABY
(2004)
• 8.1 IMDB RATING
• 4 OSCARS
• 68 WINS
• 83 NOMINATIONS
• Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Rs
HRmIRBY&t=38s

4. Plot
• Maggie Fitzgerald dreams of becoming the female boxing champion.
• She seeks out and eventually gets the help of one of the best trainers in the business,
Frankie Dunn.
• The two build a strong professional relationship.
• In the championship fight, Maggie is injured to the point of full paralysis.
• she asks him to do the unthinkable: end her life for her.

5. ETHICAL
DILLEMA
• Meggie was paralyzed from the neck down, she
wants to be put out of her misery while she can
still remember her good times.
• Frankie must now choose whether to assist her
in her suicide or not.

6. IMMANUEL KANT
• born on April 22, 1724, in Kaliningrad, Russia.
• One of the most influential western
philosopher since Aristotle.

7. Publications/Books
• The Metaphysics of Morals
• Critique of Practical Reason
• Critique of Judgment
• Critique of Pure Reason

8. DEONTOLOGICAL THEORY OF
KANT
• Deontology derived from Greek roots Deon(Duty) and
Logos(Reason).
• the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their
consequences but on whether they fulfill our duty.
• It means that an actions and their outcomes are independent things.
• Basically, there are things you have to do, even though you know
they are wrong, such as shooting that intruder to protect your family.

9. Kant’s Concepts

10. Good Will
• Only thing that is good without qualification.
• An action leading to undesirable consequences could be
moral and an action leading to good consequences could be
immoral.
• Other goods like intelligence and health can be qualified,
Good Will is good by virtue because it is the will to follow
the Moral Law.

11. The Notion of Duty
• Distinction between “I want” and “I ought”.
• Consequences have nothing to do with the moral duty.
• Moral actions are not spontaneous, if I see someone in need
of help, I may be inclined to look the other way, but I will
recognize that my duty is to help.
• Considering only those actions that are seemingly good
according to Kant are actions that seem good by duty, that
are good to my common sense of duty and for that they are
right.

12. The Nature of Imperatives
Imperatives are commands
For kant’s there exist two:
• Hypothetical Imperatives
• Categorical Imperatives

13. Hypothetical Imperatives
• If you want, you ought. The ought or the duty is conditioned by
your desires, wants and goals.
• Our goals are grounded in SELF-INTEREST

14. Categorical Imperatives
• A categorical imperative binds us regardless of our desires: everyone has a duty
to not lie, regardless of circumstances and even if it is in our interest to do so.
• The general from of DO. (Unconditioned)
• For Kant there is only one imperative command and it is the Moral Law.
• Divided in 2 formulations

15. First Formulation
• "Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same
time will that it should become a universal law [of nature].“
• Meaning act as if in your will you were defining a maximum rule
for all to follow.

16. Second Formulation
• “Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that
of another, always as an end and never as a mean.”
• See if your actions are using others or affecting others, in the meaning
of never using them as a mean to achieve but always as an end.

17. Applications
Deception:
• Lying or deception of any kind is forbidden under any circumstance.
Theft:
• Any action taken against another person to which he or she could not possibly consent
is a violation of perfect duty.
Suicide:
• The principle of self-love can become a universal law of nature.
• I make as my principle to shorten my life when its continued duration threatens more
evil

18. Agree or Disagree?
• Frankie helped her In her suicide by killing her.
• Even though it was on the request of Maggie.
• But according to Kant’s theory, killing someone or suicide
is strictly prohibited even though the consequences are
beneficial.
• According to teachings from the Catechism of the catholic
church, an act by intention to cause death in order to
eliminate suffering constitutes a murder.