Discussion Points: Kantian Ethics

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Is Kantian Ethics Useful for Making Moral Decisions?

Here are arguments for and against the idea that Kant’s deontology is useful for making moral decisions.

Arguments for

It makes clear what being moral is and how we should make moral decisions.
The categorical imperative uses three formulations which indicate what a person should check before they make a decision.
Kant emphasises autonomy and freedom in his deontology, which also promotes the value of others and respecting them for who they are.
Additionally, Kant’s theory promotes moral actions and rejects immoral actions, such as slavery and torture. The theory promotes equality and fair treatment.

Arguments against

While Kant’s morality is based upon reason and seems straightforward, he doesn’t give specific advice on individual situations which can make it difficult to apply.
Additionally, it can be too prescriptive. While Kant says he feels human freedom and autonomy are important, he also states you must adhere to the categorical imperative to be a moral being. This can be quite confusing and contradictory.

Can duty really be a measure of good or bad? Is Kant's deontology too abstract to apply to moral decision-making? Is Kantian ethics too reliant on reason and not reliant enough on sympathy, empathy etc?

Can duty really measure bad/good?

Thomas Nagel says that Kant’s theory ignores the situation that the person is in when they are making this decision, so this ignores the circumstances that the moral action is being performed in.
- So one person may think that by following their duty, they are doing the morally right thing. But in the circumstances, this may not be the correct thing to do.
As Kant’s theory ignores the particular situation, someone might do their duty and it be wrong; another person might do their duty and it be right.

Is Kantian ethics too abstract?

Kant’s theory is quite abstract which makes it difficult to apply to certain situations.
It explains how to reach a categorical imperative using three formulations and accepting three postulates - but it does not tell you which actions are morally acceptable, which makes it difficult then to know what to do in situations.

Are duty and God too abstract?

The focus on duty can make it difficult to apply to modern situations as we do not necessarily follow this idea of ‘duty’ in modern society.
Kant’s theory uses the idea of God as the reward of the summum bonum, which would make the theory abstract and inaccessible to Atheists.

Too reliant on reason?

You could argue that the focus on reason and duty in Kant’s deontology removes any understanding towards other humans and makes the theory cold and inhumane in certain circumstances.
Kant seems to reject personal relationships and promotes following the categorical imperative above anything else.

Theory lacks empathy

That Kant ignores the consequences of actions and focuses purely on duty and reason makes the theory lack empathy to a certain degree. It also makes it difficult to apply the theory in real-life terms.
Humans are very emotional and we cannot innately ignore other people’s feelings or ignore relationships that we have when making decisions. It goes against our nature.
So Kant’s theory is too reliant on reason. This means the theory is difficult to apply and use in modern-day life.