1. Catch-22 and Milo Minderbinder
Kant is supposed to have asserted that we are morally responsible for all of our actions because we have free will, and that we have free will because we exist in a noumenal world in which we are uninfluenced by the temptations of desire and inclination.... The free will that puts inclination above morality sacrifices its freedom for nothing...A crucial point in the Argument from Spontaneity is that the spontaneous will is not tempted by incentives of inclination. Now, we human beings are not so situated with respect to the incentives of inclination, because we are imperfectly rational beings....
Kant argues that a metaphysics of morals is necessary for humans to correctly carry out the "right" or moral action in every situation, since they are often affected by numerous inclinations and desires at once. ... Therefore, individuals care for one another not out of inclination due to love, but rather out of a sense of duty to do so. 7. ... This kind of respect is not a response to any other influence, as other sentiments and inclinations are. ...
If we are to be virtuous, we must do our duty and ignore our inclinations. ... A good will is earned through a human being acting rationally and discovering the inclinations and desires that cloud rational decision making. ... Kant also considers that humans have the ability to reason and through the exercise of reason, to act not in accordance with our inclinations but according to the demands that reason makes on us; from a sense of duty. ...
Everyone knows someone that can make his or her sunny day turn into a rainy, gloomy day. Or maybe someone has had an encounter with a person on the subway that bumped into you, knocked your bags down and still didn't have the audacity to say excuse me or can I help you with that? What comes to mi...
According to Kant, feeling of obligation is a moral feeling, a respect for the moral law. It has no external source and it is not imposed. The notion of obligation comes from us as rational, free beings. Human reason and freedom can only be source of moral law that is universal and binds everybody. ...
From what we learn of him in Plato does Socrates offer a philosophy that is genuinely progressive and radical in its wish to reform the society of the day? Following the Socratic model what role, if any, could philosophy play in addressing political and moral problems of our times? In this essay...
Domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone, but sadly it is often overlooked, excused, or denied. Most define abuse as physical, but it can also be psychological. Emotional abuse can cause just as much, if not more damage. It is difficult to understand why some chose to live in fear of the per...
From the very beginning of human existence, humans have been ever so curious about the nature of their own beings. Over the years the civilizations have found ways to research this idea. How do we solve it, how do we know what is good what is evil, how do we cleanse ourselves, how do we get better. ...
He insists that it is our duty to do good (and we know this already, of course) but it is only morally good when it is done for the sake of doing good; that is, if it is done not in accordance with any other inclination other than fulfilling your duty of doing good. ...
Machiavelli, on the other hand, argues that politics is not natural, that ambitious men artificially construct political societies, and that ordinary men have a inclination to withdraw from political life and seek solitude. ...
