PHIL1011 Study Guide - Final Guide: Hypothetical Imperative, Categorical Imperative, Aphorism
23 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
[ETHICS]
1
Hume
Kant
o Hume is the father of modern
non-cognitivism
o Moral judgements are
expressions of desires (or
desire-like states) They are
not truth- apt.
o No action without desire
o Rejection of the classical
account of motivation
epitomised by Socrates-Plato in
the City-Soul Analogy
o "Reasons is, and ought only to be
the slave of the passions."
o Desire is not rationally
evaluable as it does not
represent the world
o "Tis not contrary to reason to
prefer the destruction of the
whole world to the scratching of
my finger."
o Hume's Metaethics: Only desire
motivates. Moral judgements
motivate. So moral judgements
are desires.
o For Hume then, convergence in
'desires' re: morality is by virtue
of our nearly universal human
nature - we dislike pain and
enjoy pleasure, we want to keep
living.
o There are both "calm" and
"violent" passions/desires.
o Whereas for Hume, all
practical reasoning is
hypothetical - there are no
imperatives - we cannot
reason away our fundamental
desires
o Someone who does not care
about morals has no reason to
be moral.
• Kant can be considered a moral
realist.
• For Kant, reason can
overcome the passions;
praiseworthy action involves
motivation by reason; and
moral judgements are beliefs
• Kant thinks, (as realists do and
non-cognitivists do not), that
moral judgements are truth
apt and rationally evaluable
• There are two kinds of
imperative for Kant - he uses
this term bc moral rules
command us to be a certain way
• Categorical imperative: Like a
general aphorism; does not
depend on your particular
goals; "you shall not not covet
thy neighbours wide:
• Hypothetical imperative: If you
desire end a then you should
perform means b
• Whereas for Kant, it is part of
the concept of a moral rule that
it applies to everyone.
• "For duty is practical
unconditional necessity of
action; it must, therefore, hold
for all rational beings."
• Morals apply in virtue of being a
rational being. You cannot opt
out of morality.
• Morality binds categorically: it
doesn't matter whether you
want to be subject to its
demands.
• Actions have moral worth only
if they proceed from a good will
• Having a good will means acting
on a motive that you recognise
could be valid for all rational
beings.
• For it to have moral worth it
must be performed from duty
and not merely in accordance
with duty.
• Suppose you do the right thing
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Document Summary
Kant: hume is the father of modern, kant can be considered a moral. "desires" re: morality is by virtue of our nearly universal human nature - we dislike pain and enjoy pleasure, we want to keep living: there are both calm and. [ethics] 2 because it makes you happy - from inclination: only acting from duty is. Stable or law like: many philosophers thinks at least some actions performed out of desire of inclination can be morally praiseworthy, e. g love. Virtue of our humanity: langton argues this formula will always be violated. We cannot have perfect duties in an imperfect world. Thus, kant"s views are different from hume"s in two striking ways: metaethics. [ethics] 3: hume"s nc = rational action is just satisfying your desires, kant"s mr = moral requirements have to be categorical imperatives. They are given to you in virtue of you being a rational agent: these are fundamental meta differences about the nature.
