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Single Idea 8027

[filed under theme 23. Ethics / D. Deontological Ethics / 4. Categorical Imperative ]

Full Idea

If we enquire whether I can consistently universalize the maxim 'I may break my promises only when.....', the gap can be filled by a description devised so that it will apply to my present circumstances, but to very few others.

Gist of Idea

I can universalize a selfish maxim, if it is expressed in a way that only applies to me

Source

comment on Immanuel Kant (Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals [1785]) by Alasdair MacIntyre - A Short History of Ethics Ch.14

Book Ref

MacIntyre,Alasdair: 'A Short History of Ethics' [Routledge 1967], p.198

A Reaction

Another good objection to Kant. There is just a huge problem with how you state the maxim under discussion. One man's 'terrorist' is another man's 'freedom fighter'. 'Do everything possible to implement the will of God'.

The 70 ideas from 'Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals'

3544 Kant thinks virtue becomes passive, and hence morally unaccountable [Kant, by Annas]
4413 The categorical imperative smells of cruelty [Nietzsche on Kant]
5296 Kant made the political will into a pure self-determined "free" will [Kant, by Marx/Engels]
24011 Kant thought emotions are too random and passive to be part of morality [Kant, by Williams,B]
5074 Kant united religion and philosophy, by basing obedience to law on reason instead of faith [Taylor,R on Kant]
8024 The categorical imperative says nothing about what our activities and ends should be [MacIntyre on Kant]
20160 Kant focuses exclusively on human values, and neglects cultural and personal values [Kekes on Kant]
22390 Kant thought human nature was pure hedonism, so virtue is only possible via the categorical imperative [Foot on Kant]
9750 We must only value what others find acceptable [Kant, by Korsgaard]
9749 Our rational choices confer value, arising from the sense that we ourselves are important [Kant, by Korsgaard]
7671 Values are created by human choices, and are not some intrinsic quality, out there [Kant, by Berlin]
4024 Kant follows Rousseau in defining freedom and morality in terms of each other [Taylor,C on Kant]
7674 Generosity and pity are vices, because they falsely imply one person's superiority to another [Kant, by Berlin]
21029 Kantian respect is for humanity and reason (not from love or sympathy or solidarity) [Kant, by Sandel]
7105 If 'maxims' are deeper underlying intentions, Kant can be read as a virtue theorist [Kant, by Statman]
7625 We can ask how rational goodness is, but also why is rationality good [Putnam on Kant]
3762 Why couldn't all rational beings accept outrageously immoral rules of conduct? [Mill on Kant]
8026 Almost any precept can be consistently universalized [MacIntyre on Kant]
15673 The intuition behind the categorical imperative is that one ought not to make an exception of oneself [Kant, by Finlayson]
8068 Universalising a maxim needs to first stipulate the right description for the action [Anscombe on Kant]
8025 The categorical imperative will not suggest maxims suitable for testing [MacIntyre on Kant]
8027 I can universalize a selfish maxim, if it is expressed in a way that only applies to me [MacIntyre on Kant]
5295 Kant was happy with 'good will', even if it had no result [Kant, by Marx/Engels]
6695 Kant has to attribute high moral worth to some deeply unattractive human lives [Kant, by Graham]
8028 Kantian duty seems to imply conformism with authority [MacIntyre on Kant]
22050 The maxim of an action is chosen, and not externally imposed [Kant, by Bowie]
6694 Always treat humanity as an end and never as a means only [Kant]
4345 For Kant, even a person who lacks all sympathy for others still has a motive for benevolence [Kant, by Hursthouse]
4251 If we are required to give moral thought the highest priority, this gives morality no content [Williams,B on Kant]
16004 If Kant lives by self-administered laws, this is as feeble as self-administered punishments [Kierkegaard on Kant]
7670 Kant is the father of the notion of exploitation as an evil [Kant, by Berlin]
7591 Kant completed Grotius's project of a non-religious basis for natural law [Scruton on Kant]
7673 Retributive punishment is better than being sent to hospital for your crimes [Kant, by Berlin]
8046 We can only know we should obey God if we already have moral standards for judging God [Kant, by MacIntyre]
20714 God is not proved by reason, but is a postulate of moral thinking [Kant, by Davies,B]
3710 The only purely good thing is a good will [Kant]
3711 Only a good will makes us worthy of happiness [Kant]
3712 A good will is not good because of what it achieves [Kant]
3713 The function of reason is to produce a good will [Kant]
3714 Dutiful actions are judged not by purpose, but by the maxim followed [Kant]
3715 Other causes can produce nice results, so morality must consist in the law, found only in rational beings [Kant]
3717 Reverence is awareness of a value which demolishes my self-love [Kant]
3716 Act according to a maxim you can will as a universal law [Kant]
3718 Telling the truth from duty is quite different from doing so to avoid inconvenience [Kant]
3719 If lying were the universal law it would make promises impossible [Kant]
3720 We may claim noble motives, but we cannot penetrate our secret impulses [Kant]
3721 We judge God to be good by a priori standards of moral perfection [Kant]
3722 Metaphysics goes beyond the empirical, so doesn't need examples [Kant]
3723 There are no imperatives for a holy will, as the will is in harmony with moral law [Kant]
3724 A categorical imperative sees an action as necessary purely for its own sake [Kant]
3725 The good of an action is in the mind of the doer, not the consequences [Kant]
3726 The categorical imperative is a practical synthetic a priori proposition [Kant]
3727 Act as if your maxim were to become a universal law of nature [Kant]
3728 Suicide, false promises, neglected talent, and lack of charity all involve contradictions of principle [Kant, by PG]
3729 Our inclinations are not innately desirable; in fact most rational beings would like to be rid of them [Kant]
3730 Non-rational beings only have a relative value, as means rather than as ends [Kant]
3731 Rational beings necessarily conceive their own existence as an end in itself [Kant]
3732 Rational beings have a right to share in the end of an action, not just be part of the means [Kant]
3733 The 'golden rule' cannot be a universal law as it implies no duties [Kant]
3735 Men are subject to laws which are both self-made and universal [Kant]
3736 Virtue lets a rational being make universal law, and share in the kingdom of ends [Kant]
3737 The will is good if its universalised maxim is never in conflict with itself [Kant]
3738 The hallmark of rationality is setting itself an end [Kant]
3739 Free will is a kind of causality which works independently of other causes [Kant]
3740 We cannot conceive of reason as being externally controlled [Kant]
3741 We shall never be able to comprehend how freedom is possible [Kant]
22008 Always treat yourself and others as an end, and never simply as a means [Kant]
22009 Morality is the creation of the laws that enable a Kingdom of Ends [Kant]
20715 It is basic that moral actions must be done from duty [Kant]
4344 Actions where people spread happiness because they enjoy it have no genuine moral worth [Kant]