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Single Idea 3712

[filed under theme 22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 1. Goodness / g. Consequentialism ]

Full Idea

A good will is not good because of what it effects or accomplishes

Gist of Idea

A good will is not good because of what it achieves

Source

Immanuel Kant (Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals [1785], 394.3)

Book Ref

Kant,Immanuel: 'The Moral Law (Groundwork of Morals)', ed/tr. Paton,H.J. [Hutchinson 1948], p.60

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

7670 Kant is the father of the notion of exploitation as an evil [Kant, by Berlin]
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]
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]
20160 Kant focuses exclusively on human values, and neglects cultural and personal values [Kekes on Kant]
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]
5296 Kant made the political will into a pure self-determined "free" will [Kant, by Marx/Engels]
3544 Kant thinks virtue becomes passive, and hence morally unaccountable [Kant, by Annas]
3762 Why couldn't all rational beings accept outrageously immoral rules of conduct? [Mill 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]
7625 We can ask how rational goodness is, but also why is rationality good [Putnam 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]
4024 Kant follows Rousseau in defining freedom and morality in terms of each other [Taylor,C on Kant]
7105 If 'maxims' are deeper underlying intentions, Kant can be read as a virtue theorist [Kant, by Statman]
5295 Kant was happy with 'good will', even if it had no result [Kant, by Marx/Engels]
4413 The categorical imperative smells of cruelty [Nietzsche 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]
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]
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]
3724 A categorical imperative sees an action as necessary purely for its own sake [Kant]
3723 There are no imperatives for a holy will, as the will is in harmony with moral law [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]