M187080

A categorical imperative is a more sophisticated and nuanced variation of the golden

rule. Kant gives it in two different formulas. The first formula that he offers is the Universal
Law. This formula demands that we dont act on things that make us individuals to a rule that
we believe that everyone else should follow. For instance, if I believe that other people should
not lie to me, then I shouldnt lie to others. Moral rules apply to everyone equally. If something is
acceptable for me, then it should be acceptable for others, and vice versa. The second category is
that we should never act on strategies that involve others without their consent. This is his
Humanity formulation of his categorical imperative. For example, lying to someone is morally
wrong because it is a tactic that involves others in our scheme of deception without their consent.
In Kantian ethics, ones intentions are crucial to the morality of ones actions. The
rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by the intentions that lie behind it. The moral
value of an action is determined by the intention behind the action. It should not be done because
of self interest but because of duty. A person who was motivated by his own compassion to help
others is doing something of moral value. For example, if I have a man-eating tarantula on my
face that is clearly trying to kill me, and someone who has the intention of saving my life gets a
shovel and breaks my face in order to try to get the tarantula off my face, then the action of that
person has moral value. Kantian ethics does not take into account the final result of an action to
determine the moral value of an action. Therefore, actions motivated by good intentions are
good, regardless of the final result of that action.
A surgeon who will take organs from a comatose person in order to save the lives of four
others does not pass the first two formulations of Kantian ethics. According to the Universal
Law, moral rules are constant across the board. In this case, taking the organs from a comatose
person is murder. Even though it will help four others live, murder is murder, and this action
would be morally wrong. Murder does not have exceptions to the rule. This scenario would also
violate the Humanity formulation of Kantian ethics. This scenario would violate this
formulation because the person that is getting his organs removed has not consented to this
action because he is in a coma. This strategy would involve trying to save four people through
the deception of one. This scenario would fail the first two formulations as it requires the surgeon
to murder and to do something without the patients consent.