Kant - Section I

Content of Ethics:
You should understand:
- The formula of the universal law and the formula of humanity formulations of the categorical imperative
- the claim that they are equivalent.
- understand how the CI 'test' works (various notions of contradiction)
- objections to it (false positives, false negatives)
- responses to this

The Normativity of Ethics
You should understand:
- Kant's claim that we are bound by the categorical imperative because it is our law que practically rational agents
- that the categorical imperative is the law of free (autonomous) agents
- noumenal/phenomenal distinction
- Kant's reasons for thinking that we are entitled to think of ourselves as free.

Normativity
The moral law is our law qua practically rational beings.

In the Groundwork, Kant can be thought of as attempting to provide a unified account of the content and normativity of ethics by appeal to practical reason.

Section 1 of the Groundwork - Main Points
Commences with: the search for and establishment of the supreme principle of morality.
Inter Alia - Kants sets out his view that ethics is an a priori discipline; an ethical investigation is to proceed independently of sensory experience.

Kant analyses the everyday concept of the Good Will and the associated concept of Duty hence laying out what he takes to be implicit in our everyday ethical thought.

Section I:
'It is impossible to think of anything in the world or beyond it that could be considered good without limitation except a good will.'
This is intrinsic, necessary and non-instrumental.

1) Talents of Mind/Qualities of Character:
Here Kant is arguing against Aristotelian view that the ultimate good is the exercise of the virtues (intelligence, courage).
These are undoubtedly good and desirable for many purposes, but they can also be extremely evil and harmful if the will which is to make us of them is not good.

Given these, we may be forgiven for thinking that the value of the Good Will resides in its always being put to good use; it is unfailingly bringing good consequences.
This however is NOT Kant's view.

Its value does not reside in whether it brings about good results.
Its value resides in its motivation.

Duty
There is a conceptual link between the concept of the Good Will and the concept of Acting from Duty.
Kant attempts to uncover what principle underlies actions performed from the motive of duty.
Thus he takes himself to be giving a first statement of the Supreme Principle of Morality.

Friend of Humanity
People that are so sympathetically attuned that without any other motive of vanity/self-interest they find an inner satisfaction in spreading joy.
These have no true moral worth.
Vs.

Only with actions performed from the motive of duty are agents acting out of a commitment to morality.They are acting because they ought to.
This is the Supreme Principle of Morality at work.

A Common Misinterpretation
Some have inferred from the examples that Kant thinks we should be trying to cultivate a character such that we do not want to do what we ought to do - this is not Kant's position.

Individuals may have the same purpose of helping others but their maxims can however be different.
To understand this, we need to understand Kant's theory of motivation.

As rational beings Kant believes that we act upon reasons. This involves acting in accordance with principles. Maxims are subjective principles of volition.

Different sorts of maxims
First order: I will perform action A in order to attain end E.
Higher-Order: I will only act upon maxims that further my self-interest (could guide selection of first order maxims).
When we act we do so in according with high-order maxims.

Respect for Law
Duty is the necessity of an action from respect for law. The respect for law equals a moral incentive.
The individual who acts from duty, the second 'friend of man' acts because they conceive of their first-order maxim as a requirement; they conceive it as a law.

Kant claims that the Good Will acts in accordance with this principle on the basis of respect for the law.
The Law is the Objective Law of Practical Reason.

Main Points of Section 1
(Everyday ideas)
- The value of GW lies in its volition
- The GW acts from Duty
- Only acts performed from duty have moral worth.
- The moral worth of actions performed from duty resides in the maxim from which it is performed.

The Categorical Imperative apparently tells us why 'we should not make a lying promise' is a good moral rule.
Upon the universal law of this maxim there would be no promises at all. It would destroy itself.