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2.1 Notions of Morality
2.1 Notions of Morality
ABSOLUTE
UNQUALIFIED
WITHOUT CONDITION
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
IMPERATIVE
any proposition
that declares a certain action or inaction
to be necessary.
HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVE
Compels action in a given circumstance
“If I wish to satisfy my thirst, then I must drink something”
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
Denotes an absolute, unconditional requirement
that exerts its authority in all circumstances
“It is wrong to commit murder”
PRINCIPLES OF THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
Act only according to that maxim by which you can also will that it would
become a universal law.
Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own
person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at
the same time as an end.
is a code of ethics
which holds the
welfare of others
as the standard of
"good"
and self-sacrifice as
the only moral
action.
The unstated premise of the doctrine of altruism
is that all relationships among men involve sacrifice
This leaves one with the choice between maliciously exploiting the
other person
or being "moral" and offering oneself up as the sacrificial victim.
INTRINSICISM
is the belief that VALUE
is a non-relational characteristic of an object.