PHIL1070 Chapter 19: Study Q 19_
Document Summary
Kant believes that duties performed from sympathy don"t have moral worth because people either like doing the action or enjoy the honor that comes from helping people. It should be classed with actions done from other wants, such as the desire for honour (kant 8). This means that sure it"s good that people are doing the right things, but they don"t deserve the moral praise because they"re looking for encouragement or pleasure rather than acting from duty. This is an interesting classification because it speaks more to the intentions of people than most philosophers, but i think a black and white answer here is not clear enough. Some people love the attention they get from helping others, like people who post videos of themselves giving money to homeless people. Sure, it was a good thing to do, but since it was mostly done for attention it shouldn"t be regarded as highly as people who simply give their money without show.
