SPCOM475 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Deontological Ethics, Hypothetical Imperative
Document Summary
Kant: second section: transition from popular moral philosophy to the metaphysics of morals. Philosophy may be divided into three fields: physics (the study of the physical world), ethics (the study of morals), and logic (the study of logical principles). These fields may involve either empirical study of our experiences, or pure analysis of concepts. metaphysics is the study of pure concepts as they relate to moral or physical experience. The goal of the grounding for the metaphysics of morals is to develop a clearer understanding of moral principles, so that people may better avert distractions. Perfect duty-those which people have the right to expect. Imperfect duty- must perform but without expectation and can change them when addressing different groups. Hypothetical imperative- if you want x, do y. Categorical imperative- you should do y. no conditions, without exception. Rightness of an action is determined by whether or not you have a duty.