What does Kant mean when he says you ought not treat anyone as a mere means to an end?

Kant holds that if someone treats another merely as a means, the person acts wrongly, that is, does something morally impermissible. Some accounts of treating others merely as means seem not to yield the conclusion that if a person treats another in this way, then he acts wrongly.

What does Kant say is the only thing that can be intrinsically good?

The one thing that has intrinsic value, for Kant, is the autonomous good will of a person. So it is our ability to recognize a moral duty and will to act in accordance with it that makes persons beings that have dignity and are therefore worthy of moral regard.

Can an action be morally good even if we know we will benefit from it according to Kant?

Kant argues that one can have moral worth (i.e., be a good person) only if one is motivated by morality. In other words, if a person’s emotions or desires cause them to do something, then that action cannot give them moral worth.

What is wrong with the golden rule according to Kant?

According to Kant, what is the main problem with the golden rule? It makes morality depend on a person’s desires. In Kant’s theory, a maxim is: a priciple of action the one gives to oneself.

What is the relation of reason and good will in Kantian philosophy?

Kant’s theory is a version of rationalism—it depends on reason. Kant argues that no consequence can have fundamental moral worth; the only thing that is good in and of itself is the Good Will. The Good Will freely chooses to do its moral duty. That duty, in turn, is dictated solely by reason.

Why is the good will the only absolute unconditional good?

Happiness is not intrinsically good because even being worthy of happiness, Kant says, requires that one possess a good will. The good will is the only unconditional good despite all encroachments. Misfortune may render someone incapable of achieving her goals, for instance, but the goodness of her will remains.

What is a categorical imperative according to Kant?

4. Categorical and Hypothetical Imperatives. Kant holds that the fundamental principle of our moral duties is a categorical imperative. It is an imperative because it is a command addressed to agents who could follow it but might not (e.g. , “Leave the gun.

What is the moral law according to Kant?

In Kant, only the categorical imperative is moral. It is the moral law and in fact none exists even if only one can receive several formulations. The first formulation of the categorical imperative says: “Always act so that you may also wish that the maxim of your action become a universal law.”

How can the categorical imperative be used to specify moral rules?

The categorical imperative can be used to specify various moral rules. Actions done in accordance with these rules are morally good or morally permissible, while actions that violate these rules are morally wrong.

What makes a person good according to Kant?

The basic idea, as Kant describes it in the Groundwork, is that what makes a good person good is his possession of a will that is in a certain way “determined” by, or makes its decisions on the basis of, the moral law.