Essay on History of Moral Philosophy

Introduction

In this essay I will critically evaluate Kant's views on sympathy and benevolence and when an action can be deemed as morally worthy. Kant's claim on moral worth in section 1 of the "Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals." The essay will assess Kant's stand on sympathy and benevolence and when an action can be termed as morally right. This essay will critically evaluate Kant's perspectives on morality with the aim of establishing whether Kant is right or wrong in regard to his stand that on moral worth and the main objective of the paper is to establish the difference between moral worth and moral right. The paper will assess different actions to assess the reasons behind sympathetic or benevolent actions and their moral standing. Critical analysis of Kant's remarks will use the writings of other moral philosophers to establish Kant's standing on morality and the reasons behind his arguments on moral worth.

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Kant's Perspective on Morality

Kant seeks to identify moral worth based on individual cognitive ability, and according to Kant one can be morally right if one's actions show goodwill and only doing one's duty is established as moral worth according to Kant's "Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals." According to Kant, only good will can be morally right without any question or limitation, but actions based on courage, persistence and based on one's judgment can be questioned of their moral direction because they can be done out of malice or goodness (Kant and Schneewind, 2002). Kant holds that the ability to act on moderation, self-control and conscious reflection can be used to measure individual self-worth but cannot be used to claim morally worth. The principle of goodwill is central to Kant's argument of morality because it can be argued without any limitation (Kant and Schneewind, 2002). Therefore, Kant establishes that a motive that can be viewed to have moral value is that which one would expect another person to do if the situation was changed. Besides, actions cannot be of moral worth if they were carried out due to possible reward or glory which Kant argues that not that such actions are immoral, but they luck any moral value in themselves.

According to Kant, reason cannot be used as a basis for morality because human being the primary issue in the self-preservation which could compromise the rule of moral conduct. Kant in "Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals" notes that judgment and will in their own not achieve moral worth because its guidance towards morality is deceptive and self-centered. The aim of Kant's argument in "Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals" is to establish the concept of goodwill and moral worth in the perception of duty. Goodwill according to Kant is the predisposition of an action based on the individual recognition that the effect is the right thing to do (Kant and Schneewind, 2002). For example, Kant gives the situation of a fair dealing merchant and a philanthropist who is depressed. In the case of the merchant, the merchant charges a reasonable price to all the customers even those that are not aware of the products price and can be cheated. The merchant actions are not a representation of moral worth because the merchant behaves in this way because it is good for the business to be fair. In the second case, the cheerful philanthropist is used to identify the concept of moral worth in which the philanthropist does well not because it is natural but based on the fact that his duty commends such an action. In this example, Kant can introduce his concept of moral worthiness based on one's duty inclinations (Isserow, 2018). According to Kant, the will is not enough to guide one towards achieving morality because of the reasoning function which can manipulate will to be an agent of another aim.

The Perspective of Moral Worth in Duty

For goodwill to be without doubt as a moral right, it should be towards the fulfillment of duty. Duty and good will can achieve moral worth because duty help to clarify one's goodwill and also maintains subjectivity in that possible hindrances and limitations towards attaining goodwill are overcome by the concept of duty. The example of a merchant fairness because it is good for business gives a weak duty to customers because it is based on inclination and conformity which is self-serving. In another example, Kant provides the scenario with the duty to preserve one's life in which it can be used to depict the difference between the inclination to duty and clear duty. In this case, if a person preserves life and lacks inner worth the action requires moral quality and the effect is not informed by commitment but by inclination. On the other hand, Kant continues to argue that when one is in a hopeless situation but still preserves one's life without loving to live the action has moral worth because it is not based on inclination but on duty to protect and preserve one's life. A dutiful action has a moral worth based on the actuality of the person acting and without having any regard to any self-serving desire. Individual aims and ambitions can be able to influence a personal will which makes it lack moral worth to be only willful without duty. In the first proposition, Kant argued that an action could be said to have moral worth just if it is done out of duty to another person or community. In this proposition and the second proposition, any activity that is self-serving lacks moral worth and falls short of morality (Guyer, 2018). The third proposition established by Kant is identical to the first two prepositions in that a person moral worth is based on seeing duty as an action that leads to the observance of the law. Therefore, it can be deduced that an action that has moral worth should be free from any inclination but outweighs the inclination which excludes the inclination from the choice of the action. In this case, the will is determined solely by the law even in the case when the law does not serve one's objectives or infringes one's inclinations. The morality of an action is not based on the effector expectations but should be the representation of the law which is possible and obvious in a rational being

Critical Thinking

Kant maintains that benevolence or sympathy lacks moral worth because it is not based on any law but an inclination of individuals with the goodwill to show goodwill based on self-serving reasons. I agree with Kant that benevolence lacks moral worth based on Kant's explanation of the proposition of duty that the law is the source of moral worth because it is free from self-serving inclinations. Kant gives an example of philanthropy which is a goodwill activity that is based on the moral disposition of individuals to share. Kant can deliver a good response on moral worth in which he found morality on law and not moral inclination and physical activities that are motivated by individual reasons (Vatansever, 2018). Benevolence is created by goodwill but lacks moral worth because it is human inclined and any particular law does not create it. Being sympathetic cannot be considered as moral worth because it is based on humanistic thoughts and the decision can be influenced by the implications of the action which can be biased. A worth moral effect should be found in the actuality of the person acting without any self-serving reasons behind the reason. People work sympathetically to others because they are inclined by religious and cultural virtues to show empathy. The fact that an individual will towards being sympathetic be manipulated by other factors makes it self-serving which makes it lack moral worth. For instance, a nurse in the hospital can be sensitive to the patient not because of the absolute and sincerity from the heart but based on the inclination established by religion to be sympathetic towards those that are suffering. Therefore, Kant's argument on moral worth based on the law and not based on individual reasoning is the best approach to ascertain the moral right in personal decisions and actions. Actions that are informed by ulterior motive and benefits cannot show moral worth but instead according to Kant's "Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals" such actions or decisions are self-serving. Kant posits that morality is based on an activity that has universality and it is not based on individual gratification. In my opinion, being sympathetic does not depict morality because it lacks a common ground and different people in such a case can respond to the situation differently based on individual preferences.

Basing morality on the law is more appropriate to establish moral worthiness because it's a universal principle that cannot be corrupted such as individual preferences and self-serving decisions. Law is universal which makes it unquestionable and goes beyond individual inclination towards norms and cultural virtues that vary from one individual to another or communities. A law can be shared amongst different communities and represent a uniform approach towards the moral right and moral worth. Therefore, I agree with Kant that one's duty should be to the law and it is the highest form of moral worthiness because it represents uniformity and what other people could do in similar situations. I support, Kant's argument that morality should be derived from the actuality of the act is acting as per the law and not an individual yearning for happiness. There is a significant criticism of Kant's moral worth on the grounds that some actions are more worthy compared to the others, and also some actions are more morally right if they do not happen on the purpose of duty and the law such as visiting a sick friend should not be done in accordance with commitment (Isserow, 2018). The moral worth established by Kant is missing in that it denies an individual the most sought challenge.

Conclusion

In conclusion, moral worthiness is created by the ability to adhere to duties and business which will provide the necessary resources. More importantly, different people can be able to identify the type of the objectiveness which can be hindered by the community environment and individual self-fulfilment. Kant is right that a moral worth can only be based on one's obligation to the law and not personal self-serving activities. Duty backed up by law is the most effective ethical worth item that affects the society in different ways.

References

Guyer, P., 2018. Moral Worth and Moral Motivation: Kant's Real View.

Isserow, J., 2018. Moral Worth and Doing the Right Thing by Accident. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, pp.1-14.

Kant, I. and Schneewind, J.B., 2002. The groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. Yale University Press.

Vatansever, S., 2018. Kant's Response to Hume in the Second Analogy: A Critique of Buchdahl's and Friedman's Accounts.