Kantian ethics

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Immanuel Kant

People

George Berkeley

Ren Descartes

Fichte
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi

G. W. F. Hegel

David Hume
Arthur Schopenhauer

Baruch Spinoza

African Spir
Johannes Tetens
Major works

Critique of Pure Reason

Prolegomena

What Is Enlightenment?

Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals

Critique of Practical Reason

Critique of Judgment
Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason

Metaphysics of Morals
Kantianism and Kantian ethics

Transcendental idealism

Critical philosophy

Sapere aude

Schema
A priori and a posteriori

Analytic-synthetic distinction

Noumenon

Categories
Categorical imperative

Hypothetical imperative

"Kingdom of Ends"

Political philosophy
Related topics

German idealism
Schopenhauer's criticism

Neo-Kantianism

Kantian ethics is a deontological ethical theory first proposed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant. The
theory, developed as a result of Enlightenment rationalism, is based on the view that the only intrinsically

good thing is a good will; therefore an action can only be good if its maxim, the principle behind it, is duty to
the moral law. Central to Kant's construction of the moral law is the categorical imperative, which acts on all
people, regardless of their interests or desires. Kant formulated the categorical imperative in various ways.
His principle of universalisability requires that, for an action to be permissible, it must be possible to apply it
to all people without a contradiction occurring. His formulation of humanity as an ends in itself requires that
humans are never treated merely as a means to an end, but always also as ends in themselves. The
formulation of autonomy concludes that rational agents are bound to the moral law by their own will, and
Kant's Kingdom of Ends requires that people must act as if the principles of their actions establish a law for
a hypothetical kingdom of ends. Kant also distinguished between perfect and imperfect duties. A perfect
duty, such as the duty not to lie, always holds true; an imperfect duty, such as the duty to give to charity,
can be made flexible and applied in particular times and places.
American philosopher Louis Pojman has cited Pietism, political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the
contemporary debate between rationalism and empiricism, and the influence ofnatural law as influences on
the development of Kant's ethics. Other philosophers have argued that Kant's parents and his
teacher, Martin Knutzen, influenced his ethics. Those influenced by Kantian ethics include
philosopher Jrgen Habermas, political philosopher John Rawls, andpsychoanalyst Jacques Lacan.
German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel criticised Kant for not providing specific enough detail in his moral
theory to affect decision-making and for denying human nature. German philosopher Arthur
Schopenhauer argued that ethics should attempt to describe how people behave and criticised Kant for
being prescriptive. Michael Stocker has argued that acting out of duty can diminish other moral motivations,
such as friendship; Marcia Baron has defended the theory by arguing that duty does not diminish other
motivations. The Catholic Church has criticised Kant's ethics as contradictory and regards Christian
ethics as more compatible withvirtue ethics than Kantian ethics.
The claim that all humans are due dignity and respect as autonomous agents means that medical
professionals should be happy for their treatments to be performed upon anyone, and that patients must
never be treated merely as useful for society. Kant's approach to sexual ethicsemerged from his view that
humans should never be used merely as a means to an end, leading him to regard sexual activity as
degrading and to condemn certain specific sexual practices.Feminist philosophers have used Kantian
ethics to condemn practices such as prostitution andpornography because they do not treat women as
ends. Kant also believed that, because animals do not possess rationality, we cannot have duties to them
except indirect duties not to develop immoral dispositions through cruelty towards them. Kant used the
example of lying as an application of his ethics: because there is a perfect duty to tell the truth, we must
never lie, even if it seems that lying would bring about better consequences than telling the truth.

Contents
[hide]

1 Outline

1.2 Perfect and imperfect duties

2 Influences on Kantian ethics

3 Significance of Kantian ethics
3.1 Influenced by Kantian ethics

3.1.1 Jrgen Habermas

3.1.2 John Rawls

3.1.3 Jacques Lacan

o
o
o
o

1.1 Categorical imperative

1.1.1 Universalisability
1.1.2 Humanity as an end in itself
1.1.3 Formula of autonomy
1.1.4 Kingdom of Ends

3.2 Contemporary Kantian ethicists

3.2.1 Onora O'Neill
3.2.2 Marcia Baron
3.3 Critics of Kantian ethics
3.3.1 G.W.F Hegel
3.3.2 Arthur Schopenhauer
3.3.3 Friedrich Nietzsche
3.3.4 John Stuart Mill
3.3.5 Virtue ethics
3.3.6 Catholic Church
4 Applications
4.1 Medical ethics
4.2 Sexual ethics
4.3 Animal ethics
4.4 Lying
5 References
6 Bibliography

Outline[edit source | editbeta]

Portrait of Immanuel Kant, who developed the ethical theory

Although all of Kant's work develops his ethical theory, it is most clearly defined in Groundwork of the
Metaphysic of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason and Metaphysics of Morals. As part of the
Enlightenment tradition, Kant based his ethical theory on the belief that reason should be used to
determine how people ought to act.[1] He did not attempt to prescribe specific action, but instructed that
reason should be used to determine how to behave. [2]
In his combined works, Kant constructed the basis for an ethical law from the concept of duty. [3]Kant began
his ethical theory by arguing that the only virtue that can be unqualifiedly good is a good will. No other
virtue has this status because every other virtue can be used to achieve immoral ends (the virtue of loyalty
is not good if one is loyal to an evil person, for example). The good will is unique in that it is always good
and maintains its moral value even when it fails to achieve its moral intentions. [4] Kant regarded the good
will as a single moral principle which freely chooses to use the other virtues for moral ends. [5] For Kant, an
moral action is only praiseworthy if it is performed out of duty. This means that, if an agent motivated to
perform a moral action by any other desire, then it is not morally praiseworthy.[6]

Categorical imperative[edit source | editbeta]

The primary formulation of Kant's ethics is the categorical imperative, [7] from which he derived four further
formulations.[8] Kant made a distinction between categorical and hypothetical imperatives. A hypothetical
imperative is one we must obey if we want to satisfy our desires: 'go to the doctor' is a hypothetical
imperative because we are only obliged to obey it if we want to get well. 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. These imperatives are morally binding because they are based on reason, rather than
contingent facts about an agent.[9] Unlike hypothetical imperatives, which bind us insofar as we are part of a
group or society which we owe duties to, we cannot opt-out of the categorical imperative because we
cannot opt-out of being rational agents. We owe a duty to rationality by virtue of being rational agents;
therefore, rational moral principle apply to all rational agents at all times. [10]

Universalisability[edit source | editbeta]

Kant's first formulation of the Categorical Imperative was that of universalisability: [11] The first is:
Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal
law.
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785)[12]
When someone acts, it is according to a rule, or maxim. For Kant, an act is only permissible if one is willing
for the maxim that allows the action to be a universal law by which everyone acts. [12] Maxims fail this test if
they produce either a contradiction in conception or a contradiction in the will when universalised. A
contradiction in conception happens when, if a maxim were to be universalised, it cease to make sense.
For example, if the maxim 'it is permissible to break promises' was universalised, no one would trust any
promises made, so the idea of a promise would become meaningless; the maxim would be selfcontradictory because, when universalised, promises cease to be meaningful. The maxim is not moral
because it is logically impossible to universalisewe could not conceive of a world where this maxim was
universalised.[13] A maxim can also be immoral if it creates a contradiction in the will when universalised.
This does not mean a logical contradiction, but that universalising the maxim leads to a state of affairs that
no rational being would desire. For example, Driver argues that the maxim 'I will not give to charity'
produces a contradiction in the will when universalised because a world where no one gives to charity
would be undesirable for the person who acts by that maxim. [14]
Kant believed that morality is the objective law of reason: just as objective physical laws necessitate
physical actions (apples fall down because of gravity, for example), objective rational laws necessitate
rational actions. He thus believed that a perfectly rational being must also be perfectly moral because a
perfectly rational being subjectively finds it necessary to do what is rationally necessary. Because humans
are not perfectly rational (they partly act by instinct), Kant believed that humans must conform their
subjective will with objective rational laws, which he called conformity obligation. [15] Kant argued that the
objective law of reason is a priori, existing externally from rational being. Just as physical laws exist prior to
physical beings, rational laws (morality) exist prior to rational beings. Therefore, according to Kant, rational
morality is universal and cannot change depending on circumstance. [16]

Humanity as an end in itself[edit source | editbeta]

Kant's second formulation of the Categorical Imperative was to treat humanity as an ends in itself:
Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always
at the same time as an end and never simply as a means.
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785)[17]
Kant argued that rational beings can never be treated merely as a means to an ends; they must always
also be treated as an ends themselves, requiring that their own reasoned motives must be equally
respected. This derives from Kant's claim that reason motivates morality: it demands that we respect
reason as a motive in all beings, including other people. A rational being cannot rationally consent to being

used merely as a means to an end, so they must always be treated as an end. [18] Kant justified this by
arguing that moral obligation is a rational necessity: that which is rationally willed is morally right. Because
all rational agents rationally will themselves to be an end and never merely a means, it is morally obligatory
that they are treated as such.[19][20][21] This does not mean that we can never treat a human as a means to an
end, but that when we do, we also treat them as an end in themselves.[18]

Formula of autonomy[edit source | editbeta]

Kant's Formula of Autonomy expresses the idea that an agent is obliged to follow the Categorical
Imperative because of their rational will, rather than any outside influence. Kant believed that any moral law
motivated by the desire to fulfill some other interest would deny the Categorical Imperative, leading him to
argue that the moral law must only arise from a rational will. [22] This principle requires people to recognise
the right of others to act autonomously and means that, as moral laws must be universalisable, what is
required of one person is required of all. [23][24][25]

Kingdom of Ends[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: Kingdom of Ends
Another formulation of Kant's Categorical Imperative is the Kingdom of Ends:
A rational being must always regard himself as giving laws either as member or as sovereign in a kingdom
of ends which is rendered possible by the freedom of will.
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, 2[26]
This formulation requires that actions be considered as if their maxim is to provide a law for a hypothetical
Kingdom of Ends. Accordingly, people have an obligation to act upon principles that a community of rational
agents would be accept as laws.[27] In such a community, each individual would only accept maxims that
can govern every member of the community without treating any member merely as a means to an end.
[28]

Although the Kingdom of Ends is an idealthe actions of other people and events of nature ensure that

actions with good intentions sometimes result in harmwe are still required to act categorically, as
legislators of this ideal kingdom.[29]

Perfect and imperfect duties[edit source | editbeta]

Applying the categorical imperative, duties arise because failure to fulfil them would either result in a
contradiction in conception or in a contradiction in the will. The former are classified as perfect duties, the
latter as imperfect. A perfect duty always holds truethere is a perfect duty to tell the truth, so we must
never lie. An imperfect duty allows flexibilitybeneficence is an imperfect duty because we are not obliged
to be completely beneficent at all times, but may choose the times and places in which we are. [30] Kant
believed that perfect duties are more important than imperfect duties: if a conflict between duties arises, the
perfect duty must be followed.[31]

Influences on Kantian ethics[edit source | editbeta]

Philosopher Louis Pojman has suggested four strong influences on Kant's ethics. The first is
the Lutheran sect Pietism, to which Kant's parents subscribed. Pietism emphasised honesty and moral
living over doctrinal belief, more concerned with feeling than rationality. Kant believed that rationality is
required, but that it should be concerned with morality and good will. Second is the political philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose work, The Social Contract, influenced Kant's view on the fundamental
worth of human beings. Pojman also cites contemporary ethical debates as influential to the development
of Kant's ethics. Kant favoured rationalism over empiricism, which meant he viewed morality as a form of
knowledge, rather than something based on human desire. Natural law (the belief that the moral law is
determined by nature) and intuitionism (the belief that humans have intuitive awareness of objective moral
truths) were, according to Pojman, were also influential for Kant. [32]
Biographer of Kant, Manfred Kuhn, suggested that the values Kant's parents held, of "hard work, honesty,
cleanliness, and independence, set him an example and influenced him more that their Pietism did. In
the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Michael Rohlf suggests that Kant was influenced by his teacher,
Martin Knutzen, himself influenced by the work of Christian Wolff and John Locke, and who introduced Kant
to the work of English physicist Isaac Newton.[33]

Significance of Kantian ethics[edit source | editbeta]

Influenced by Kantian ethics[edit source | editbeta]
Jrgen Habermas[edit source | editbeta]

Photograph of Jurgen Habermas, whose theory of discourse ethics was influenced by

Kantian ethics
German philosopher Jrgen Habermas has proposed a theory of discourse ethics that he claims is a
descendant of Kantian ethics.[34] He proposes that action should be based on communication between
those involved, in which their interests and intentions are discussed so they can be understood by all.
Rejecting any form of coercion of manipulation, Habermas believes that agreement between the parties is
crucial for a moral decision to be reached.[35] Like Kantian ethics, discourse ethics is a cognitive ethical
theory, in that it supposes that truth and falsity can be attributed to ethical propositions. It also formulates a
rule by which ethical actions can be determined and proposes that ethical actions should be
universalisable, in a similar way to Kant's ethics. [36]

Habermas argues that his ethical theory is an improvement on Kant's ethics. [36] He rejects
thedualistic framework of Kant's ethics. Kant distinguished between the phenomena world, which can be
sensed and experienced by humans, and the noumena, or spiritual world, which is inaccessible to humans.
This dichotomy was necessary for Kant because it could explain the autonomy of a human agent: although
a human is bound in the phenomenal world, their actions are free in the intelligible world. For Habermas,
morality arises from discourse, which is made necessary by their rationality and needs, rather than their
freedom.[37]

John Rawls[edit source | editbeta]

The social contract theory of political philosopher John Rawls, developed in his work A Theory of Justice,
was influenced by Kant's ethics.[38]Rawls argued that a just society would be fair. To achieve this fairness,
he proposed a hypothetical moment prior to the existence of a society, at which the society is ordered: this
is the original position. This should take place from behind a veil of ignorance, where no one knows what
their own position in society will be, preventing people from being biased by their own interests and
ensuring a fair result.[39] Rawls' theory of justice rests on the belief that individuals are free, equal, and
moral; he regarded all human beings as possessing some degree of reasonableness and rationality, which
he saw as the constituents of morality and entitling their possessors to equal justice. Rawls dismissed
much of Kant's dualism, arguing that the structure of Kantian ethics, once reformulated, is clearer without it
he described this as one of the goals of A Theory of Justice.[40]

Jacques Lacan[edit source | editbeta]

French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan linked psychoanalysis with Kantian ethics in his works The Ethics of
Psychoanalysis and Kant avec Sade and compared Kant with the Marquis de Sade.[41] Lacan argued that
Sade's maxim of jouissancethe pursuit of sexual pleasure or enjoymentis morally acceptable by Kant's
criteria because it can be universalised. He proposed that, while Kant presented human freedom as critical
to the moral law, Sade further argued that human freedom is only fully realised through the maxim of
jouissance.[42]

Contemporary Kantian ethicists[edit source | editbeta]

Onora O'Neill[edit source | editbeta]
Philosopher Onora O'Neill, who studied under John Rawls at Oxford University, is a contemporary Kantian
ethicist who supports a Kantian approach to issues of social justice. O'Neill argues that a successful
Kantian account of social justice must not rely on any unwarranted idealisations or assumption. She notes
that philosophers have previously charged Kant with idealising humans as autonomous beings, without any
social context or life goals, though maintains that Kant's ethics can be read without such an idealisation.
[43]

O'Neill prefers Kant's conception of reason as practical and available to be used by humans, rather than

as principles attached to every human being. Conceiving of reason as a tool to make decisions with means
that the only thing able to restrain the principles we adopt is that they could be adopted by all. If we cannot
will that everyone adopts a certain principle, then we cannot give them reasons to adopt it. To use reason,

and to reason with other people, we must reject those principles that cannot be universally adopted. In this
way, O'Neill reached Kant's formulation of universalisability without adopting an idealistic view of human
autonomy.[44] This model of universalisability does not not require that we adopt all universalisable
principles, but merely prohibits us from adopting those that are not. [45]
From this model of Kantian ethics, O'Neill begins to develop a theory of justice. She argues that he
rejection of certain principles, such as deception and coercion, provides a starting point for basic
conceptions of justice, which she argues are more determinate for human beings that the more abstract
principles of equality or liberty. Nevertheless, she concedes that these principles may seem to be
excessively demanding: there are many actions and institutions that do rely on non-universalisable
principles, such as injury.[46]

Marcia Baron[edit source | editbeta]

In his paper The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories, philosopher Michael Stocker challenges
Kantian ethics (and all modern ethical theories) by arguing that actions from duty lack certain moral value.
He gives the example of Smith, who visits his friend in hospital out of duty, rather than because of the
friendship; he argues that this visit seems morally lacking because it is motivated by the wrong thing.
[47]

Marcia Baron has attempted to defend Kantian ethics on this point. After presenting a number of reasons

that we might find acting out of duty objectionable, she argues that these problems only arise when people
misconstrue what their duty is. Acting out of duty is not intrinsically wrong, but immoral consequences can
occur when people misunderstand what they are duty-bound to do. Duty need not be seen as cold and
impersonal: one may have a duty to cultivate their character or improve their personal relationships.
[48]

Baron further argues that duty should be construed as a secondary motivethat is, a motive that

regulates and sets conditions on what may be done, rather the prompts specific actions. She argues that,
seen this way, duty neither reveals a deficiency in one's natural inclinations to act, nor undermines the
motives and feelings that are essential to friendship. For Baron, being governed by duty does not mean
that duty is always the primary motivation to act; rather, it entails that considerations of duty are always
action-guiding. A responsible moral agent should take an interest in moral questions, such as questions of
character. These should guide moral agents to act from duty.[49]

Critics of Kantian ethics[edit source | editbeta]

G.W.F Hegel[edit source | editbeta]

Portrait of G.W.F. Hegel, who presented objections to Kant's ethical theory

German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel presented two main criticisms of Kantian ethics. He first argued that
Kantian ethics provides no specific information about what people should do because Kant's moral law is
solely a principle of non-contradiction.[2] He argued that Kant's ethics lack any content and so cannot
constitute a supreme principle of morality. To illustrate this point, Hegel and his followers have presented a
number of cases in which the Formula of Universal Law either provides no meaningful answer or gives an
obviously wrong answer. Hegel used Kant's example of being trusted with another man's money to argue
that Kant's Formula of Universal Law cannot determine whether a social system of property is a morally
good thing, because either answer can entail contradictions. He also used the example of helping the poor:
if everyone helped the poor, there would be no poor left to help, so beneficence would be impossible if
universalised, making it immoral according to Kant's model. [50] Hegel's second criticism was that Kant's
ethics forces humans into an internal conflict between reason and desire. For Hegel, it is unnatural for
humans to suppress their desire and subordinate it to reason. This means that, by not addressing the
tension between self-interest and morality, Kant's ethics cannot give humans any reason to be moral. [51]

Arthur Schopenhauer[edit source | editbeta]

German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer criticised Kant's belief that ethics should concern what ought to
be done, insisting that the scope of ethics should be to attempt to explain and interpret what actually
happens. Whereas Kant presented an idealised version of what ought to be done in a perfect world,
Schopenhaur argued that ethics should instead be practical and arrive at conclusions that could work in the
real world, capable of being presented as a solution to the world's problems. [52] Schopenhaur drew a
parallel with aesthetics, arguing that in both cases prescriptive rules are not the most important part of the
discipline. Because he believed that virtue cannot be taughta person is either virtuous or is nothe cast
the proper place of morality as restraining and guiding people's behaviour, rather than presenting
unattainable universal laws.[53]

Friedrich Nietzsche[edit source | editbeta]

Existentialist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche criticised all contemporary moral systems, with a special
focus on Christian and Kantian ethics. He argued that all modern ethical systems share two problematic
characteristics: first, they make a metaphysical claim about the nature of humanity, which must be
accepted for the system to have any normative force; and second, the system benefits the interests of
certain people, often over those of others. Although Nietzsche's primary objection is not that metaphysical
claims about humanity are untenable (he also objected to ethical theories that do not make such claims),
his two main targetsKantianism and Christianitydo make metaphysical claims, which therefore feature
prominently in Nietzsche's criticism.[54]
Nietzsche rejected fundamental components of Kant's ethics, particularly his argument that morality, God
and immorality can be shown through reason. Nietzsche cast suspicion on the use of moral intuition, which
Kant used as the foundation of his morality, arguing that is has no normative force in ethics. He further
attempted to undermine key concepts in Kant's moral psychology, such as the will and pure reason. Like
Kant, Nietzsche developed a concept of autonomy; however, he rejected Kant's idea that valuing our own
autonomy requires us to respect the autonomy of others.[55] A naturalist reading of Nietzsche's moral
psychology stands contrary to Kant's conception of reason and desire. Under the Kantian model, reason is
a fundamentally different motive to desire because it has the capacity to stand back from a situation and
make an independent decision. Nietzsche conceives of the self as a social structure of all our different
drives and motivations; thus, when it seems that our intellect has made a decision against our drives, it is
actually just an alternative drive taking dominance over another. This is in direct contrast with Kant's view of
the intellect as opposed to instinct; instead, it is just another instinct. There is thus no self capable of
standing back and making a decision; the decision the self makes is simply determined by the strongest
drive.[56] Kantian commentators have argued that Nietzsche's practical philosophy requires the existence of
a self capable of standing back in the Kantian sense. For an individual to create values of their own, which
is a key idea in Nietzsche's philosophy, they must have be able to conceive of themselves as a unified
agent. Even if the agent is influenced by their drives, she must regard them as her own, which undermines
Nietzsche's conception of autonomy.[57]

John Stuart Mill[edit source | editbeta]

Utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill criticised Kant for not realising that moral laws are justified by a
moral intuition based on utilitarian principles (that the greatest good for the greatest number ought to be
sought). Mill argued that Kant's ethics could not explain why certain actions are wrong without appealing to
utilitarianism.[58] As basis for morality, Mill believed that his principle of utility has a stronger intuitive
grounding that Kant's reliance on reason, and can better explain why certain actions are right or wrong. [59]

Virtue ethics[edit source | editbeta]

Virtue ethics is a form of ethical theory which emphasises the character of an agent, rather than specific
acts; many of its proponents have criticised Kant's deontological approach to ethics. Elizabeth
Anscombe criticised modern ethical theories, including Kantian ethics, for their obsession with law and
obligation. As well as arguing that theories which rely on a universal moral law are too rigid, Anscombe

suggested that, because a moral law implies a moral lawgiver, they are irrelevant in modern secular
society.[60] In his In his work After Virtue, Alasdair MacInyyre criticises Kant's formulation of
universalisability, arguing that various trivial and immoral maxims can pass the test, such as "Keep all your
promises throughout your entire life except one". He further challenges Kant's formulation of humanity as
an ends in itself by arguing that Kant provided no reason to treat others as means: the maxim "Let
everyone except me be treated as a means", though seemingly immoral, can be universalised. [61] Bernard
Williams argues that, by abstracting persons from character, Kant misreprents persons and morality and
Philippa Foot identified Kant as one of a select group of philosophers responsible for the neglect of virtue
by analytic philosophy.[62]

Catholic Church[edit source | editbeta]

The Catholic Church has criticised Kantian ethics for its apparent contradiction, arguing that humans being
co-legislators of morality contradicts the claim that morality is a priori. If something is universally a priori
(i.e. existing unchangingly prior to experience), then it cannot also be in part dependent upon humans, who
have not always existed
The theory of the categorical imperative is, moreover, inconsistent. According to it the human will is the
highest lawgiving authority, and yet subject to precepts enjoined on it.
Kevin Knight, Catholic Encyclopedia[63]
Roman Catholic priest Servais Pinckaers criticised the modern desire for ethics to be autonomous and free
from the authorities such as the Church, a development he partially attributed to thinkers such as Kant.
Pinckaers saw this as potentially threatening to the legitimacy of theMagisterium, but maintained that the
link between the gospel and the moral law, and the shortcomings of human reason, leave a place for the
moral authority of the Church.[64] Pinckaers regarded Christian ethics as closer to the virtue ethics
of Aristotle than Kant's ethics. He presented virtue ethics as freedom for excellence, which regards
freedom as acting in accordance with nature to develop one's virtues. Initially, this requires following rules
but the intention is that the agent develop virtuously, and regard acting morally as a joy. This is in
contrast withfreedom of indifference, which Pinckaers attributes to William Ockham and likens to Kant. On
this view, freedom is set against nature: free actions are those not determined by passions or emotions.
There is no development or progress in an agent's virtue, merely the forming of habit. This is closer to
Kant's view of ethics, because Kant's conception of autonomy requires that an agent is not merely guided
by their emotions, and is set in contrast with Pinckaer's conception of Christian ethics. [65]

Applications[edit source | editbeta]

Medical ethics[edit source | editbeta]
Kant believed that the shared ability of humans to reason should be the basis of morality, and that it is the
ability to reason that makes humans morally significant. He therefore believed that all humans should have
the right to common dignity and respect.[66] Margaret Eaton argues that, according to Kant's ethics, a
medical professional must be happy for their own practices to be used by and on anyone, even if they were

the patient themselves. For example, a researcher who wished to perform tests on patients without their
knowledge must be happy for all researchers to do so.[67] She also argues that Kant's requirement of
autonomy would mean that a patient must be able to make a fully informed decision about treatment,
making it immoral to perform tests on unknowing patients. Medical research should be motivated out of
respect for the patient, so they must be informed of all facts, even if this would be likely to dissuade the
patient.[68] Jeremy Sugarman has argued that Kant's formulation of autonomy requires that patients are
never used merely for the benefit of society, but are always treated as rational people with their own goals.
[69]

Aaron Hinkley notes that a Kantian account of autonomy requires respect for choices that are arrived at

rationally, not for choices which are arrived at by idiosyncratic or non-rational means. He argues that there
may be some difference between what a purely rational agent would choose and what a patient actually
chooses, the difference being the result of non-rational idiosyncrasies. Although a Kantian physician ought
not to lie to or coerce a patient, Hinkley suggests that some form of paternalism - such as through
withholding information which may prompt a non-rational response - could be acceptable. [70]
In her work How Kantian Ethics Should Treat Pregnancy and Abortion, Susan Feldman argues
that abortion should be defended according to Kantian ethics. She proposed that a woman should be
treated as a dignified autonomous person, with control over their body, as Kant suggested. She believes
that the free choice of women would be paramount in Kantian ethics, requiring abortion to be the mother's
decision.[71] Dean Harris has noted that, if Kantian ethics is to be used in the discussion of abortion, it must
be decided whether a fetus is an autonomous person. [72] Kantian ethicist Carl Cohen argues that the
potential to be rational or participation in a generally rational species is the relevant distinction between
humans and inanimate objects or irrational animals. Cohen believes that even when humans are not
rational because of age (such as babies or fetuses) or mental disability, agents are still morally obligated to
treat them as an ends in themselves, equivalent to a rational adult such as a mother seeking an abortion. [73]

Sexual ethics[edit source | editbeta]

Kant viewed humans as being subject to the animalistic desires of self-preservation, species-preservation,
and the preservation of enjoyment. He argued that humans have a duty to avoid maxims that harm or
degrade themselves, including suicide, sexual degradation, and drunkenness. [74] This led Kant to
regard sexual intercourse as degrading because it reduces humans to an object of pleasure. He admitted
sex only within marriage, which he regarded as "a merely animal union". He believed that masturbation is
worse than suicide, reducing a person's status to below that of an animal; he argued that rape should be
punished with castration and that bestiality requires expulsion from society.
[75]

Feminist philosopher Catharine MacKinnon has argued that many contemporary practices would be

deemed immoral by Kant's standards because they dehumanise women. Sexual harassment, prostitution
and pornography, she argues, objectify women and do not meet Kant's standard of human autonomy.
Commercial sex has been criticised for turning both parties into objects (and thus using them as a means
to an end); mutual consent is problematic because in consenting, people choose to objectify

themselves. Alan Soble has noted that more liberal Kantian ethicists believe that, depending on other
contextual factors, the consent of women can vindicate their participation in pornography and prostitution. [76]

Animal ethics[edit source | editbeta]

Because Kant viewed rationality as the basis for being a moral patientone due moral considerationhe
believed that animals have no moral rights. Animals, according to Kant, are not rational, thus one cannot
behave immorally towards them.[77] Although he did not believe we have any duties towards animals, Kant
did believe being cruel to them was wrong because our behaviour might influence our attitudes towards
human beings: if we become accustomed to harming animals, then we are more likely to see harming
humans as acceptable.[78]
Ethicist Tom Regan rejects Kant's assessment of the moral worth of animals on three main points: First, he
rejects Kant's claim that animals are not self-conscious. He then challenges Kant's claim that animals have
no intrinsic moral worth because they cannot make moral judgement. Regan argues that, if a being's moral
worth is determined by its ability to make a moral judgement, then we must regard humans who are
incapable of moral thought as being equally undue moral consideration. Regan finally argues that Kant's
assertion that animals exist merely as a means to an ends is unsupported; the fact that animals have a life
that can go well or badly suggests that, like humans, they have their own ends. [79]

Lying[edit source | editbeta]

Kant believed that the Categorical Imperative provides us with the maxim that we ought not to lie in any
circumstances, even if we are trying to bring about good consequences, such as lying to a murderer to
prevent them from finding their intended victim. Kant argued that, because we cannot fully know what the
consequences of any action will be, the result might be unexpectedly harmful. Therefore, we ought to act to
avoid the known wronglyingrather than to avoid a potential wrong. If there are harmful consequences,
we are blameless because we acted according to our duty.[80] Driver argues that this might not be a problem
if we choose to formulate our maxims differently: the maxim 'I will lie to save an innocent life' can be
universalised. However, this new maxim may still treat the murder as a means to an end, which we have a
duty to avoid doing. Thus we may still be required to tell the truth to the murderer in Kant's example. [81]

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