Download Classical Chinese Philosophies - Fort Thomas Independent Schools

Theories of Morality
Kant
Bentham
Aristotle
Morality
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Morality: Action for the sake of principle
Guides our beliefs about right and wrong
Sets limits on desires and actions
Where does Morality get its Authority?
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(1) God
 (2) Parents (i.e., commands, threats, modeling)
 (3) Society (i.e., laws, mores, folkways)
Common Considerations in Morality
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Should we follow rules/laws when it
conflicts with our conscience?
Ought we follow our conscience?
Why/Why Not?
Should we emphasize rules/principles or
character/virtue?
What makes a law/principle moral?
3 Key Groups of Moral Theory:
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1). Duty-Defined Moralities (Immanuel Kant)
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Based on Authority
 The principle itself that ought to be obeyed
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2). Consequentialist Moralities (J. Bentham)
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Based on the results of actions
Principle/Authority holds no moral weight
3). Virtue Ethics (Aristotle)
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Based in Authority & results of actions
Virtues benefit the overall community & individual
One should avoid excess and deficiency
Immanuel Kant’s
Categorical Imperative
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Categorical: Without Qualification
Imperative: Command/Order
Kant believed that our actions were not as
important as our intentions in morality
Kant also believed all humans were capable,
through reason, of figuring out right/wrong.
Reason is an authority ‘in’ us but it transcends us
Why be Moral?: “It is the rationale thing to do.”
Kant’s Categorical Imperative
1). Act only on that maxim [intention] whereby you can at
the same time will that is/should be a universal law.
2). Act as if the maxim of your action were to become by
your will a universal law of nature
3). Always act so as to treat humanity, whether in yourself
or others, as an end in itself, never merely as a means
4). Always act as if to bring about, and as a member of, a
Kingdom of Ends (that is, an ideal community)
The Utility Principle:
“Always act for the greatest good for
the greatest number of people.”
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Places all emphasis on the actual consequences
and insists morality is only justified by positive
effects (how happy they make us)
 For Bentham (pictured above) one shouldn’t ask
the Kantian question: “What if everyone lied?” but
instead: “What would be the actual
consequences of me lying?”
 Duty-defined makes no appeal to
happiness/actual consequences (usually
intended consequences)
Key Difference between Bentham & Mill:
Quantity vs. Quality
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For Bentham factors include: length, intensity,
certainty of result, speed of result, number of
people affected, mixture of pleasure/pain
For Mill: He insisted that there are different
qualities of pleasure and pain as well as
different quantities. It is better to be satisfied
with a lower amount of a higher pleasure.
I.E.: “It is better to be a human being
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be
Socrates dissatisfied than a food satisfied.”
pg.265