PP217 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Categorical Imperative, Deontological Ethics, The Strongest
Deontology
Deontology: the study of the nature of duty and obligation
•
The strongest form is Kant's theory- claims that our obligations have nothing to
do with the consequences of our actions
According to Kant we must follow right action that we are supposed to
follow, even if it will cause bad things to happen
○
•
Categorical imperative: a command tat admits no exceptions (Kant's definition
of duty)
•
Maxim of action: the statement someone might give about why they are doing
something
Ex: 'I don’t want this person becoming an addict, so I'll take away their
cigarettes' maxim= force someone to do something if it satisfies your goal
of benefiting her
○
•
To universalize a maxim, it must become something of a law of nature, so that
the world works that way
Ex from earlier; f goal is to achieve my goal by force, then I must intent
others to achieve their aims as well, although their aims conflict with
mine. Can't be consistently universalized
○
•
Kant's second version of the categorical imperative; autonomy. You can ask
people to do things, but they must make the choice
•
Problems with Kant's theory
Categorical imperative I is unclear, some situations the maxim can be
moral and not
1.
Categorical imperative II is more clearly applicable, but the two versions
don't always agree
2.
Rigidity- Kant believed we should do justice, even if the world will be
destroyed by it
3.
•
Pluralism
Ross suggests we have a number of independent duties- try to maximize utility
and try to respect autonomy. When these duties come into conflict, we must
weigh the conflicting duties, and do what the more serious duty demands
•
Prima Facie: duty that outweighs the others is one's actual duty
•
Problems with pluralism
'apples to oranges' problem- Ross has no principled explanation of how
we are to compare prima facie duties
All of Ross' prima facie duties can be justified on utilitarian grounds
(worried he hasn't made progress over utilitarianism)
§
1.
The role of intuition- Ross claims we should use our moral intuition to
determine our actual duty in cases of moral conflict, but what if our
intuitions are different?
2.
•
Feminist ethics
No core example of a theory, more about the kind of questions asked, and
issues they bring our attention to
•
Guiding idea is that male dominated societies have developed theoretical blind
spots
•
Androcentrism: the practice of placing a masculine point of view at the centre of
ones world view, culture and history
•
Little states that the most salient characteristic of a woman may come to be
seen as her reproductive capacity, her ability to nurture children, or her physical
beauty
•
Gendered concepts: set of dualisms by which we tend to order our world;
male/female, reason/emotion, active/passive
•
Little claims that the terms associated with the feminine tends to be regarded
as less valuable
•
Many feminists take a more practical and political stance •
Concerned with power relations•
Many feminists both value and question the ideal of autonomy, on one hand,
respect for autonomy is something women have often been denied, on the
other, Kantian concepts of autonomy may lead us to ignore contexts of power
•
Deontology, Pluralism, and Feminism
Friday, May 11, 2018
10:33 AM
Document Summary
Deontology: the study of the nature of duty and obligation. The strongest form is kant"s theory- claims that our obligations have nothing to do with the consequences of our actions. According to kant we must follow right action that we are supposed to follow, even if it will cause bad things to happen. Categorical imperative: a command tat admits no exceptions (kant"s definition of duty) Maxim of action: the statement someone might give about why they are doing something. Ex: "i don"t want this person becoming an addict, so i"ll take away their cigarettes" maxim= force someone to do something if it satisfies your goal of benefiting her. To universalize a maxim, it must become something of a law of nature, so that the world works that way. Ex from earlier; f goal is to achieve my goal by force, then i must intent others to achieve their aims as well, although their aims conflict with mine.
