PHIL-250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Institute For Operations Research And The Management Sciences, Practical Reason
Document Summary
The moral worth of an action lies not in the purpose or goal but in the governing maxim (ie the material outcome is insignificant). Ones maxims will be individual to them and will inform their actions: one has individual reasons for each choice they make. One must always question why someone chooses the act; the outcome is not as important. Kant responds that even though respect is a feeling, it is not produced extrinsically, but. Feelings of fear and inclination are evidence of desire (fear being a type of aversion, We are subjected to respect (ie respect for the truth) regardless of our subjective. It would be a problem for us if morality was rooted in a feeling, even that of respect. But kant argues that respect is not reducible to inclination and aversion; it is a rational. For an action to have moral worth, the maxim must be informed by respect for the moral law, as dictated by duty.
