PHI 2174 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Social Animal, Age Appropriateness, Categorical Imperative
30 Dec 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Kant believed that certain types of actions (including murder, theft, and lying) were absolutely prohibited, even in cases when the action would bring about more happiness than the alternative. His theory is an examples of a deontological moral theory according to these theories, the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences but on whether they ful ll our duty: good will vs. nature"s will. Everything in nature works according to laws, therefore everything in the natural world (apart from humans) are locked in a sequence of cause-and-effect that determines their every move and decision like a chain of reaction. Rational animals (humans) can interrupt the chain reactions by not acting mechanically, not acting on material inputs, but by exercising will. A good will is good simply because it is good in itself, not because of its results or effects. The will is more essential and is the condition for happiness.
