A Critical Look at Kant’s Ethics

جستارهایی در فلسفه و کلام

Article 1, Volume 42, Issue 2 - Serial Number 85, December 2011, Pages 10-36   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/philosophy.v42i2.11253

Author

Husayn Atrak^*

Abstract

Kant’s ethical theory is one the most important theories in philosophy of ethics, which has always attracted the attention of the commentators and critics. Although it has many positive points, there are some objections to this theory just as to any other human theory. In this article, it is attempted to point out the critiques that seem to have been leveled against Kant’s ethics. Some of these objections are: generalizability is a feature of the law rather than a criterion for the morality of action; prescription of improper actions and prohibition of proper actions by the criterion of generalizability; possibility of disagreement among people over regarding a rule as generalizable; non-efficiency of the principle of ends; objection to the innate value of intellect; objection to [regarding] the good intention as being only intrinsically good; objection to the absoluteness of ethical commands; the problem of the conflicting of duties; inattention to the personality, motives, and inner emotions of the doer and non-coverage of the entire moral life by the concept of duty.

Keywords

ethics; Kant; duty; critique; principle of generalizability; principle of ends

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