Should education promote absolute moral principles in society(1)
1. Should education promote absolute
moral principles in society?
How can conflict between moral
principles be resolved?
Understanding the place of Kantian Ethics in
Education
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2. Some basic Comparisons with prior
theories
Theory of Immanuel Kant is opposed to both
consequentialist /utilitarian theory and egoistic or
subjective positions.
Kant believed that ethics can be organized using a single
principle, one that is a source of our duties and
responsibilities.
Morality is not a question of numbers, our own or that of
the greatest number.
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3. You cannot define human life by calculating consequences.
Something is not right or wrong on the basis of the
circumstances around it.
Morality is a matter of following Absolute rules.
Theory associated with divine command but has nothing to
do with God as a theory.
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4. The basis of Kant’s theory – the good will
Theory exclusively relies on rational argumentation.
“Reason requires us to do certain things and refrain from doing other
things”
Hence, theory founded in Practical Reason and not theoretical reason
Structuring the argument:
Human beings are rational
They have theoretical knowledge enabling them perform complex
mental tasks (Maths, Logic)
They are endowed with practical reason helping them in their
quest to become “good people
Determination to do good is referred to as “the good will”
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5. The place of imperatives in Kantian
thinking
What is an imperative?
What is a hypothetical imperative?
What is a categorical Imperative?
Doing our duty means always obeying certain absolute or
compulsory laws or commands or imperatives.
Imperatives worth of moral consideration are the Categorical
imperatives.
These are superior and as such are sources of Moral duty.
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6. The place of reason in determining what is
ethically right
The ethically right is determined by asking: what would be
naturally right for us to do by applying reason
What would happen if we made a particular act UNIVERSAL?
What rule/maxim would we follow? Would we be willing to
allow everyone do it?
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7. 1st Categorical Imperative (Universalisability
test)
Act only on that maxim whereby you can at the same time will
that it should become a universal law (Act as if the maxim of
your action were to become by your will a universal law of
nature)
Consider the following in view of the principle:
Lying, murder, theft,
“permitting these would become irrational. Concepts such as
truth, property, and meaning itself would become meaningless”
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8. 2nd Categorical Imperative
Act so as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that
of any other, always as an end in itself, never as a mere means.
(Rational beings … ought always to be esteemed also as ends, that
is, as human beings who must be capable of containing in
themselves the end of the very same action)
Follows the idea that human beings are rational/have the power of
reason, autonomous/free, have desires and inclinations and as such
are self-legislating agents.
Understanding arises from the intrinsic nature of human beings as
dignified and valuable in themselves and not by virtue of some
utilities we can derive.
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9. 3rd Categorical Imperative
THE PRINCIPLE OF AUTONOMY
The premise of all morality is autonomy
Freedom is unique to the will of a rational being
Generates the ability to will or author an action as law.
Reason enable the movement towards the universal law
I can only will an action as law if I respect the rationality of others
Human beings only become differentiated by virtue of the good
will or bad will motivating their actions
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10. Should education promote absolute moral
principles? A Kantian perspective
The value of human being is above everything else. Why?
People have desires and goals and other things have value for them in
relation to their projects.
Mere things have value only as a means to the ends/purposes of human
beings. Their value is in human ends.
Human beings have intrinsic worth or dignity because they are rational
agents (capable of making decisions, setting own goals, guiding their
conduct by reason)
Kant’s moral law is the law of reason
Without rationality the moral fabric of the world would disappear
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11. Implications on how human beings deal with
each other
Treating human beings as end-in-themselves means
respecting their rationality
People should never be manipulated or used by others to
each their ends no matter how good or noble those
purposes are.
The only way that moral goodness can exist at all in the
world is for rational creatures to understand what they
should do, acting from a sense of duty.
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12. Problems with Kant’s the 1st formulation of his
supreme principle of morality
The idea of abstract inflexible moral rules is not an attractive one
– moral beings doing their duties even if unpleasurable is difficult
to hold. Understanding rules requires that we understand when
and under what circumstances exception are allowed.
NO indication on how conflicts between moral principles may be
resolved.
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13. How does the categorical imperative relate to
contemporary issues such as:
Abortion
Punishment
Treatment of non-humans
Euthanasia
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