Assignment for Final

Student Name: Jahid Hasan Anik

Student ID: 19210008
Course Code: GED-120
Course Title: Elementary Philosophy

Topic:
Elaborate the humane qualities and concept of moral philosophy
necessary to lead an ideal life according to Immanuel Kant. Do you agree or
disagree with the concept? Discuss with justification.

Humans are the best creatures in this world. And like the Immanuel
Kant some the constellation of philosophers had endeavored to program the
human race with a language of moral philosophy and human qualities;
Immanuel Kant, has drawn a whole portrait of the humane qualities and
concept of moral philosophy necessary to lead a life, ideal life of a moral,
logical and rational being.
Humans want to be freedom. But if everyone lead their life with individual
choice, people cannot lead an ideal life. That is why we need morality. Our
religion gives us morality but doesn't give us freedom. Here the moral
philosophy of Immanuel Kant leads us to be freedom and lead an ideal life
with human qualities.

Immanuel Kant is the central figure in modern philosophy. He

synthesized early modern rationalism and empiricism, set the terms for much
of nineteenth and twentieth century philosophy, and continues to exercise a
significant influence today in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political
philosophy, aesthetics, and other fields. Kant was so prolific though highly
priggish while shedding light on moral philosophy that his nebulous domain
of writings and dialects drew the attention of the dedicated lovers of wisdom
like a neodymium magnet draws a piece of steel.
 According to Immanuel Kant the supreme principle of morality is a
standard of rationality that he dubbed the “Categorical Imperative” (CI). Kant
characterized the CI as an objective, rationally necessary and unconditional
principle that we must always follow despite any natural desires or
inclinations we may have to the contrary. All specific moral requirements,
according to Kant, are justified by this principle, which means that all immoral
actions are irrational because they violate the CI.

Kant’s understanding of moral freedom and of moral principles has

been central to discussions of morality from his time forward. His moral
philosophy is a philosophy of freedom. Without human freedom, thought
Kant, moral appraisal and moral responsibility would be impossible. Kant
believes that if a person could not act otherwise, then his or her act can have
no moral worth. Further, he believes that every human being is endowed with
a conscience that makes him or her aware that the moral law has authority
over them. Kant calls this a “fact of reason,” and he regards it as the basis
for a belief in human freedom.
The most essential point of moral philosophy of thinking, thus likewise
of the Groundwork, is, in Kant's spectacle, to "search out" the primary
guideline of a "metaphysics of moral," which Kant comprehends as an
arrangement of deduced moral rules that apply the CI to human people in
all times and societies. Kant seeks after this venture through the initial two
parts of the Groundwork. He continues by breaking down and clarifying
judicious thoughts regarding profound quality, including the thoughts of a
"good will" and "duty". The mark of this first task is to concoct an exact
explanation of the guideline or standards on which every one of our
conventional moral decisions is based.
According to Kant, ethics, like metaphysics, is a priori, meaning that
our moral duty is determined independently of empirical considerations.
Kant’s ethics can therefore be contrasted with ethical views such as
utilitarianism that hold that the morality of acts is derived from their
consequences. In the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant
outlines his fundamental ethical principle, which he calls the “categorical
imperative.” The moral principle is “imperative” because it commands, and it
is “categorical” because it does so unconditionally, that is, irrespective of the
particular inclinations and circumstances of the actor. This moral principle is
given by reason and states that we may act only in such a way that the maxim
of our action, i.e. the principle governing our action, could be willed as
universal law. For example, one is forbidden to act on the maxim “lie
whenever it provides an advantage” because such a maxim would destroy
trust among humans, and with it the possibility of gaining any advantage from
lying. Those who act on non-universalizable maxims are caught in a kind of
practical contradiction. In another formulation of the categorical imperative,
Kant specifies that we must always respect humanity in ourselves and others
by treating humans always as ends in themselves, and never merely as a
means.
Freedom, for Kant, is thus not the “freedom” to follow one’s inclinations.
Instead, freedom implies morality, and morality implies freedom. To act on
one’s inclinations or desires, even if one desires the morally correct act, is to
be determined by the causal forces of nature, and therefore to be unfree or
“heteronomous.” To act morally is to act “autonomously,” meaning to act
according to the law that one gives oneself. It is not sufficient only to perform
the acts required by morality; it is also necessary to act intentionally in accord
with one’s moral duty.

In conclusion I want to say that, I agree with the topic because without
humane qualities and morality we cannot lead an ideal life. And according to
the moral philosophy of Kant we can lead an ideal life with freedom. I agree
with this concept and incontrovertibly I will continue to practice this moral
philosophy. There is a wise saying “thinking is the hardest job on earth that’s
why most people judge”. Kant’s moral philosophy has that aura of teaching
us the magical power of thinking, not only thinking but also thinking rationally
and morally.