PHLA11H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Egotism, Kantianism, Unit
Document Summary
Week 5 lecture #9: tuesday february 02, 2016. Always treat a human being (yourself included) as an end, and never as a mere means. (p. 159) Making use of someone to get what you want. Treating someone as though they are only there to help you get what you want. Treating someone as though they only have instrumental value. Treating a human being with the respect she deserves (as an end) requires respecting her rationality and autonomy. By making a lying promise (that i will pay you back), I am deceiving you into doing what i want. I"m not allowing you to make up your own mind. By definition, slavery does not respect the autonomy of the enslaved. Slavery treats the oppressed without regard for their own goals and hopes. (p. 161) So, slavery is intrinsically wrong, according to kant. Respecting people as rational, autonomous agents requires more than just not doing certain things to them.
