• German philosopher Immanuel

Kant (1724-1804) was an opponent

of utilitarianism. Leading
20th century proponent of
Kantianism: Professor Elizabeth
Anscombe (1920-2001).
• Kant’s theory is an example of
a deontological moral theory–
according to these theories, the
rightness or wrongness of actions does
not depend on their consequences but
on whether they fulfill our duty.
 GOODWILL
• The will, Kant says, is the faculty of acting
according to a conception of law. When we act,
whether or not we achieve what we intend with our
actions is often beyond our control, so the morality of
our actions does not depend upon their outcome.
• The morality of an action, therefore, must be
assessed in terms of the motivation behind it. For
example, if two people, Juan and Tamad, perform
the same act, from the same conception of the law,
but events beyond Juan’s control prevent him from
achieving his goal, Tamad is not less praiseworthy for
not succeeding. We must consider them on equal
moral ground in terms of the will behind their
actions.
 Goodness cannot arise from acting on impulse or
natural inclination, even if impulse coincides with duty. It
can only arise from conceiving of one’s actions in a certain
way.
 CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

The Categorical Imperative determines what our

moral duties are.

• Morality and imperatives: What does it mean for one's

duty to be determined by the categorical imperative?

• What is an imperative? An imperative is a

command. So, "Pay your taxes!" is an imperative, as are
"Stop kicking me!" and "Don't kill animals!“
 DETERMINANTS WHETHER OR NOT
A GIVEN ACT IS MORALLY RIGHT

(1) Formulate the maxim that the act falls

under
(2) Universalize that maxim
(3) Determine if the universalized maxim
generates inconsistency.
Problems for Kant’s Theory