According to kant why is a false promise wrong

Deontology is a concept that comes from the Greek language. The term is used to designate a kind of discipline that focuses on the analysis of the duties and values governed by moral. It is said that the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham English thinker, father of utilitarianism Houndsditch, - London, was responsible for coining the notion. The deontology is part of what is known as normative ethics philosophy indicating what should be regarded as good and what should be termed as bad.

This means that every profession, trade or particular area can have its own ethics that indicates what the duty of each person is. The deontologists are also called the nonconsequentialist; Immanuel Kant was a nonconquetialist and was considered by many as the most influential thinker of the modern era. Kant says that an action is good only if we do it with good intentions or act if we think it is our duty to do the right thing, regardless of the possible consequences that this action may bring.

The action must do so only because it is morally right or ethical. If we do not act based on that thought for Kant the act is immorally.

All content. Kant on trust Updated Wednesday, 30th August What was Immanuel Kant's approach to the question of trust? Copyright: Controlled Mistrust and suspicion are on the increase in our society; and confidence in our institutions is in decline. Copyright information. Publication details Originally published : Monday, 1st April Last updated on : Wednesday, 30th August Leave a comment.

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Morality and imperatives : What does it mean for one's duty to be determined by the categorical imperative? What is an imperative? An imperative is a command. So, "Pay your taxes! Hypothetical Imperatives : these imperatives command conditionally on your having a relevant desire. Another example, your father says, "if you are hungry, then go eat something! Categorical Imperatives : These command unconditionally. What is the connection between morality and categorical imperatives? Morality must be based on the categorical imperative because morality is such that you are commanded by it, and is such that you cannot opt out of it or claim that it does not apply to you.

How does the categorical imperative work? The categorical imperative has three different formulations. That is to say, there are three different ways of saying what it is.

Kant claims that all three do in fact say the same thing, but it is currently disputed whether this is true. The second formulation is the easiest to understand, but the first one is most clearly a categorical imperative. Here is the first formulation. A maxim is the rule or principle on which you act. For example, I might make it my maxim to give at least as much to charity each year as I spend on eating out, or I might make it my maxim only to do what will benefit some member of my family.

You are not allowed to make exceptions for yourself. For example, if you expect other people to keep their promises, then you are obligated to keep your own promises. For example, if I wanted to lie to get something I wanted, I would have to be willing to make it the case that everyone always lied to get what they wanted - but if this were to happen no one would ever believe you, so the lie would not work and you would not get what you wanted.

So, if you willed that such a maxim of lying should become a universal law, then you would thwart your goal - thus, it is impermissible to lie, according to the categorical imperative. It is impermissible because the only way to lie is to make an exception for yourself. Kant on Moral Worth. The Moral Worth of Persons : Kant also has something to say about what makes someone a good person. Keep in mind that Kant intends this to go along with the rest of his theory, and what one's duty is would be determined by the categorical imperative.

However, one can treat this as a separate theory to some extent, and consider that one's duty is determined by some other standard. Keep in mind that what is said below has to do with how one evaluates people, not actions. A person's actions are right or wrong, a person is morally worthy or lacks moral worth i. A person's actions determine her moral worth, but there is more to this than merely seeing if the actions are right or wrong.

By "motivation" I mean what caused you to do the action i. Kant argues that one can have moral worth i. In other words, if a person's emotions or desires cause them to do something, then that action cannot give them moral worth. This may sound odd, but there is good reason to agree with Kant. I look around for what would be the most fun to do with it: buy a yacht, travel in first class around the world, get that knee operation, etc.. I decide that what would be really fun is to give the money to charity and to enjoy that special feeling you get from making people happy, so I give all my lottery money away.

According to Kant, I am not a morally worthy person because I did this, after all I just did whatever I thought would be the most fun and there is nothing admirable about such a selfish pursuit. It was just lucky for those charities that I thought giving away money was fun. Moral worth only comes when you do something because you know that it is your duty and you would do it regardless of whether you liked it.

Imagine two people out together drinking at a bar late one night, and each of them decides to drive home very drunk.

They drive in different directions through the middle of nowhere. One of them encounters no one on the road, and so gets home without incident regardless of totally reckless driving.

The other drunk is not so lucky and encounters someone walking at night, and kills the pedestrian with the car. His underlying premise of what it is to be human I. What is within is Reason.

This allows the Categorical Imperative to function. We must look therefore at the broader panoramic of society and its dynamics to link certain ideas including moral codes and practices with definite states, stages of a society?

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