It is generalized across instances but is subjective in that it accounts for the person's understanding of the person's circumstances. (2018, January 8). This person "wishes for death, and yet preserves his life, without loving it, not from inclination, or fear, but from duty. When they recognize their duty, they recognize what reason requires. Suppose further that this action conforms to duty, that is, the action is in accordance with duty. The goal of the Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals is to establish the "supreme principle of morality." Acts of will are motivated rationally. One can explain why one eats fruits and vegetables in terms of conditions for a healthy lifestyle, by which one means one thinks it's good to be healthy. These distinctions give us helpful insight into Kant’s larger project and philosophical concerns, and more importantly, let us put the questions he is facing in the larger context of what philosophy is… When Kant is tackling a question, he usually begins by distinguishing philosophy from other sciences and forms of knowledge. (Metaphysics of Morals, Ak 6:470). 10. That happens to be the right thing to do, but that doesn’t mean it was done from duty. The Grounding is meant to be more accessible than this later work. But for Kant, this division is not akin to the division of labor, because pure reason will arrive … We can say it’s not prudent, because the inevitable breaking of the promise will cause pain to others, which will lead to guilt on my part; ultimately, it won't be worth it. There are few good summaries of this important work available on the internet. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals is composed of three sections. Summary of Text. When we do good, others around us, like our parents, our teacher, a pastor, praise us for having done good, and the memory of that pleasure causes us to continue to do good. In other words does one say, "I will lie when it suits my purposes," and make it a habitual practice? Because the good will is the only unconditionally good thing in the universe, this is what Kant must analyze as he attempts to identify the ultimate moral principle. Now suppose the shopkeeper's motivation is to preserve his reputation in the community—he does not want to become known as someone who cheats customers when he can, because such a reputation will damage his business. Nonetheless, common understanding is too easily misled, and a moral philosophy can avoid situational temptations. To be universally moral, one must reason outside of personal interests and circumstances. First, actions are moral if and only if they are … An action that isn’t performed with that University. Lying also contradicts the concept of promise keeping. Kant defines a maxim as "the subjective principle of willing." 1 - Ethics and Moral Theory - Duration: 37:04. So, for example, the general maxim that one should do things that improve one's health cuts across ways in which one can promote one's health—eating certain foods, exercising, and so forth—and allows for one to implement the maxim according to one's circumstances, such as what foods are available and when one can exercise. January 8, 2018. preface: defines metaphysics as pure philosophy limited According to Kant, a maxim that is properly moral is one that can be universalized. Several general principles about moral duties may be advanced. Neither is unconditionally good; each requires a good will. Web. Kant says that this feeling has insight into reason’s true purpose, which he’ll go into later. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Case 2: Suppose a shopkeeper does not overcharge any customer. The will is the "summoning of all means that are within our control." In his lectures on ethics prior to the Groundwork, Kant insisted upon an indispensable causal role for feeling in the production of moral action. At the same time, there is a powerful humanism and democratic streak to Kant’s argument. Kant intends to follow this work with a more thorough treatment of moral philosophy. Like Hume, I find his rigorously syllogistic approach refreshing, relative to more modern wishy-washy rhetorical styles. . in her doing her duty because it is her duty rather than because she expects some advantage or happens to feel like it). Instead, he chooses to act as though we are, in a philosophical method he describes as practical reasoning. Case 4: A person wants to die but does not commit suicide. Upload them to earn free Course Hero access! But it is still doubtful if true virtue is to be found in the world. An act of will is contrasted with an action done from inclination. Kant focuses on one way a personal rule or policy is morally acceptable. In the first, Kant establishes the notion that an individual should have a general method for how to engage in moral thinking; that is… People are often inclined to do what satisfies this or that urge or desire, so morality has to appear as a command, rather than a matter of course. Kant proceeds to a second proposition: an action from duty has more worth, not in what it is supposed to achieve, but with the maxim according to which it’s been arrived at. Kant’s whole project is thus to develop a metaphysics of morals — which he does with the Critique of (Pure) Practical Reason, published in 1788, three years after the Groundwork. Expired. Book title Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals; Author. Home Blog the metaphysics of morals summary NOVEMBER 26, 2020. If everyone made promises knowing they would break them, the whole idea of promising would become incoherent. A summary of Part X (Section3) in Immanuel Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals In the Critique of Pure Reason Kant demonstrates the limitations of speculative metaphysics. Not affiliated with Harvard College. Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals is a preliminary sketch of the fundamental metaphysical laws governing moral experience. This test determines whether the principle is sound. But this paves the way for an extension in the power of practical reason. For example: should I make a promise knowing I’m not going to keep it? Copyright © 1999 - 2020 GradeSaver LLC. An action that is contrary to duty, though still useful for some purpose. The shopkeeper can be motivated by self-interest, as when he does not overcharge his customers because he wants to preserve his reputation. . the metaphysics of morals summary. In other words one cannot will that everyone lie when it suits them, because in a world where this occurs, no one would trust anyone enough to lend them money in the first place. . ... Immanuel Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, sec. Home Blog the metaphysics of morals summary NOVEMBER 26, 2020. Physics and ethics employ both, where the latter's empirical part is "practical anthropology," while its a priori part is "morals." They, too, can be evil—a rational, calm, evil person, for example. Course Hero. A final insight on duty will aid a transition to Section 2. Read a brief overview of the work, or chapter by chapter summaries. the metaphysics of morals summary. This means that, under certain conditions, these same things could be bad. It is, as a practical matter, contradictory. Hegel, who borrowed and critiqued many of Kant’s concepts, observed in his early writings that Kant was a “Jew”—that, just as Christ accused the Pharisees of following scripture everywhere except their hearts, Kant was obsessed with following the law to the letter, but not to its real meaning. If it were nature’s goal only to make us happy and only to preserve ourselves, then the will would have been a bad thing to give us. In other words, by analyzing the concept of a moral action, Kant thinks he can uncover the fundamental meaning of morality. But we can also say that it does not conform with duty, that it could never be the basis for a universal law, regardless of situation and context. Instead, his actions accord with duty; they do not spring from it. The Metaphysics of Morals (German: Die Metaphysik der Sitten) is a 1797 work of political and moral philosophy by Immanuel Kant.In structure terms, it is divided into two sections: the Doctrine of Right, dealing with rights, and the Doctrine of Virtue, dealing with virtues. The sole aim of the present groundwork is to seek out and establish the supreme principle of morality to develop a "pure" moral philosophy, a "metaphysics of morals" that relies on the a priori concepts of reason, not on empirical (based on observation/experience rather than logic) observations Kant has yet to establish that there is human freedom—that, as the source of the moral … This explains both the discomfort felt at seeing a terrible person happy and a good person unhappy. . If I say that I did something because I wanted to avoid the shame I would feel for not having done it, that’s the same as saying “I did it because I felt like it.” Thus ostensibly moral actions are no different than, say, eating a sandwich when we are hungry, or going to sleep when we are tired. On the other hand, one's rational capacity puts being moral under one's control. The source of that higher law isn’t God—it’s reason, the law man gives himself. Consequently, if morality is rooted in one's disposition by nature or upbringing, morality becomes a matter of chance. Tedrick: Not really. So, for example, if one sees a child drowning in a pool of water, and it is one's duty to attempt to save that child, one marshals all the available means to do so. In the first, Kant establishes the notion that an individual should have a general method for how to engage in moral thinking; that is, he or she should have common rational moral cognition. First Section: Transition from Common Rational Moral Cognition to Philosophical Moral Cognition A good will is the only thing that can be good without limitation, since all other good things are contingent on it. The “transition” Kant refers to in the title of Section I, then, is a transition from what he supposes is a commonly accepted concept – in this case, the concept of a good will – to the assumptions upon which that concept is grounded or based. StuDocu Summary Library EN. When one explains why one has done something one thinks is moral, one appeals to what one takes to be good. Course Hero. For Kant, goodness only comes from following the law. If such a being had reason, it would be only to realize how happy it already was. It’s the principle with which it was thought up—not the goals it achieves (or fails to)—that make it morally worthy. 393, ¶1) Tedrick: Hey Kant! 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