Kantianism
What matters is the motive
All human beings are worthy of respect, no matter who they are or where they live.
Our worth comes from our ability to be rational.
Being rational, (the ability to reason), gives us our value.
Our rationality allows us to be free from other constraints.
We are free to follow a law of our own (humanity’s own), which is constructed by pure reason.
•Morality
Moral value comes from doing what is right (no matter the consequences), not doing what brings us
pleasure.
Kant argues that only when we are doing things for their own sake (not as a means of achieving
something else), do our actions have moral value.
•Example
The Baker
A child visits a bakery with plenty of money to purchase bread. The child cannot read the signs and
therefore the baker is able to charge the child whatever he wants for the bread.
The baker chooses to charge the child the standard price for the bread. Is his action moral? (according to
Kant)
It depends on his motivation: if he charges the child the correct price because he believes all people
should be honest, then he is acting in accordance with a principle, and therefore he is being moral.
However, if he is charging the child the correct price because he is afraid that others will find out he is
dishonest and avoid his bakery, then the action has no moral value (even if it is the right thing to do)
because he is just doing something as a means of getting at something else. (further riches)
For an action to have more worth it has to be done for the sake of duty not out of inclination. Its ok to
have more than one motivation for doing something as long as it is not the dominant reason for doing
the right thing.
•Freedom
Kant connects morality with freedom
In order to be free, we must act autonomously:
Act in accordance with a law we have constructed ourselves (out of reason) not a law given or imposed
on us.
Act in accordance with the law no matter the consequences (not in order to get something else)