Fulfilling the duties we should all live by.
Lesson Objectives
Appreciate the desirability of universal ethics (absolutism)
Appreciate the difference between Ethical Absolutism & Ethical Relativism
Appreciate Kant's realization that Ethics would now arise from reason alone
Understand Kantian Deontology and why duties are central to Ethics
Understand the difference between Hypothetical & Categorical Imperatives
Appreciate why after World War II the idea of Kantian Ethics fell flat
Key Terms
Ethical Absolutism
Ethical Relativism
Universal Ethics
Deontology
Hypothetical Imperative
Categorical Imperative
Maxim
Autonomous Lawmakers
Deontology & the Problem of Consequences
The Search for Universal Values
Isn't Good Universal?
• The appeal to a universal good can be found in it's application
• If there's a good that everyone must follow, then it can be applied equally
• This gets rid of a lot of unjust things like favortism and discrimination
• If justice is about fairness and fairness is about equality, shouldn't laws be?
Do we not all share some values?
• All cultures generally protect their children
• All cultures generally promote truth-telling
• All cultures generally prohibit harming someone without just cause
Religious Ethics
• Insofar as religions are universal ( ...and some aren't) their ethics are as well
• The universal Christian ethics of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance
• The unverisal Islamic ethics of caring for orphans or keeping promises (17:34)
• The universal Hindu ethic of non-violence (ahimsa)