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Kantian Ethics
Kantian ethics refers to a deontological ethical theory developed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant that is based on the notion that: "It is impossible to think of anything at all in the world, or indeed even beyond it, that could be considered good without limitation except a good will." The theory was developed in the context of Enlightenment rationalism. It states that an action can only be moral if (i) it is motivated by a sense of duty and (ii) its maxim may be rationally willed a universal, objective law. Central to Kant's theory of the moral law is the categorical imperative. Kant formulated the categorical imperative in various ways. His principle of universalizability requires that, for an action to be permissible, it must be possible to apply it to all people without a contradiction occurring. Kant's formulation of humanity, the second section of the categorical imperative, states that as an ''end in itself'', humans are required never to treat others merel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deontology
In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek: + ) is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules and principles, rather than based on the consequences of the action. It is sometimes described as duty-, obligation-, or rule-based ethics. Waller, Bruce N. 2005. ''Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contemporary Issues''. New York: Pearson Longman. p. 23. Deontological ethics is commonly contrasted to consequentialism, virtue ethics, and pragmatic ethics. In this terminology, action is more important than the consequences. The term ''deontological'' was first used to describe the current, specialised definition by C. D. Broad in his 1930 book, ''Five Types of Ethical Theory''. Older usage of the term goes back to Jeremy Bentham, who coined it prior to 1816 as a synonym of ''dicastic'' or ''censorial ethics'' (i.e., ethics based on judgement). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metaphysics Of Morals
The ''Metaphysics of Morals'' (german: Die Metaphysik der Sitten) is a 1797 work of political and moral philosophy by Immanuel Kant. In structure terms, it is divided into two sections: the ''Doctrine of Right'', dealing with rights, and the ''Doctrine of Virtue'', dealing with virtues. Kant's development of his ethical theories in the work include an evolution of the "categorical imperative" concept and an exploration of the consequences of treating humanity as rational beings in the context of duties. Summary The work is divided into two main parts, the ''Rechtslehre'' and the ''Tugendlehre''. Mary J. Gregor's translation (1991) explains these German terms as, respectively, the ''Doctrine of Right'', which deals with the rights that people have or can acquire, and the ''Doctrine of Virtue'', which deals with the virtues they ought to acquire. ''Rechtslehre'' has also been translated as the ''Science of Right'' (Hastie) or the ''Metaphysical Elements of Justice'' (Ladd). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the strong interaction, 1036 times weaker than the electromagnetic force and 1029 times weaker than the weak interaction. As a result, it has no significant influence at the level of subatomic particles. However, gravity is the most significant interaction between objects at the macroscopic scale, and it determines the motion of planets, stars, galaxies, and even light. On Earth, gravity gives weight to physical objects, and the Moon's gravity is responsible for sublunar tides in the oceans (the corresponding antipodal tide is caused by the inertia of the Earth and Moon orbiting one another). Gravity also has many important biological functions, helping to guide the growth of plants through the process of gravitropism and influencing th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physical Laws
Scientific laws or laws of science are statements, based on repeated experiments or observations, that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. The term ''law'' has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, accurate, broad, or narrow) across all fields of natural science (physics, chemistry, astronomy, geoscience, biology). Laws are developed from data and can be further developed through mathematics; in all cases they are directly or indirectly based on empirical evidence. It is generally understood that they implicitly reflect, though they do not explicitly assert, causal relationships fundamental to reality, and are discovered rather than invented. Scientific laws summarize the results of experiments or observations, usually within a certain range of application. In general, the accuracy of a law does not change when a new theory of the relevant phenomenon is worked out, but rather the scope of the law's application, since the mathematics or statement representing the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Objectivity (philosophy)
In philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ..., objectivity is the concept of truth independent from individual subjectivity (bias caused by one's perception, emotions, or imagination). A proposition is considered to have objective truth when its truth conditions are met without bias caused by the mind of a sentience, sentient being. Objectivity (science), Scientific objectivity refers to the ability to judge without Impartiality, partiality or external influence. Objectivity in the moral framework calls for moral codes to be assessed based on the well-being of the people in the society that follow it. Moral objectivity also calls for moral codes to be compared to one another through a set of universal facts and not through subjectivity. Objectivity of knowledge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self-refuting Idea
A self-refuting idea or self-defeating idea is an idea or statement whose falsehood is a logical consequence of the act or situation of holding them to be true. Many ideas are called self-refuting by their detractors, and such accusations are therefore almost always controversial, with defenders stating that the idea is being misunderstood or that the argument is invalid. For these reasons, none of the ideas below are unambiguously or incontrovertibly self-refuting. These ideas are often used as axioms, which are definitions taken to be true ( tautological assumptions), and cannot be used to test themselves, for doing so would lead to only two consequences: consistency (circular reasoning) or exception (self- contradiction). Variations Directly self-denying statements Directly self-denying statements are characterised by being necessarily (or inherently) false. The Epimenides paradox is a statement of the form "this statement is false". Such statements troubled philosophers, e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Kingsmill Abbott
Reverend Thomas Kingsmill Abbott (26 March 1829 – 18 December 1913) was an Irish scholar and educator. Abbott was born in Dublin and was educated at Trinity College. He was elected a scholar in 1848, graduated in 1851 as a senior moderator in mathematics and was made a fellow of the college in 1854. He obtained an M.A. and a D.Litt. (1891) from Trinity, and was ordained a minister in the Church of Ireland. In 1852 he solved a geometrical problem posed by J. J. Sylvester. He occupied the chair of moral philosophy (1867–72), of biblical Greek (1875–88), and of Hebrew (1879–1900). In 1887 he was elected librarian in Trinity and, in 1900, completed catalogues of the library's manuscript holdings. He became a senior fellow in 1897. He was one of a group of Irish scholars, including J. P. Mahaffy, who made significant contributions to the dissemination and study of the works of Immanuel Kant. His translation of Kant's "Critique of Practical Reason" remained the standard Engli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groundwork Of The Metaphysic Of Morals
''Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals'' (1785; german: Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten; also known as the ''Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals'', ''Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals'', and the ''Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals'') is the first of Immanuel Kant's mature works on moral philosophy and remains one of the most influential in the field. Kant conceives his investigation as a work of foundational ethics—one that clears the ground for future research by explaining the core concepts and principles of moral theory, and showing that they are normative for rational agents. Kant purposes to lay bare the fundamental principle of morality and show that it applies to us. Central to the work is the role of what Kant refers to as the ''categorical imperative'', the concept that one must act only according to that precept which he or she would will to become a universal law. He provides a groundbreaking argument that the rightness of an action is determ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kant, Immanuel
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics have made him one of the most influential figures in modern Western philosophy. In his doctrine of transcendental idealism, Kant argued that space and time are mere "forms of intuition" which structure all experience, and therefore that, while "things-in-themselves" exist and contribute to experience, they are nonetheless distinct from the objects of experience. From this it follows that the objects of experience are mere "appearances", and that the nature of things as they are in themselves is unknowable to us. In an attempt to counter the skepticism he found in the writings of philosopher David Hume, he wrote the '' Critique of Pure Reason'' (1781/1787), one of his most well-known works. In it, he developed his theory of experienc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypothetical Imperative
A hypothetical imperative ( German: ''hypothetischer Imperativ'') is originally introduced in the philosophical writings of Immanuel Kant. This sort of imperative is contrasted with a categorical imperative. Overview It is first mentioned in Section II of '' Groundworks of the Metaphysics of Morals.'' Kant defined it as the formula of the command of reason that represents an objective principle "in so far as it is necessitating for a will", in other words, imperatives act as the empirical formulas for knowing and enacting with reason. Hypothetical imperatives tell us how to act in order to achieve a specific goal and the commandment of reason applies only conditionally, e.g. "I must study to get a degree." These sort of actions are capable of producing good, but they are primarily motivated by a desire to meet specific purposes. Actions done via Hypothetical Imperatives are done very often; whenever one commits to perform an action in order to achieve something they desire, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Categorical Imperative
The categorical imperative (german: kategorischer Imperativ) is the central philosophical concept in the deontological moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Introduced in Kant's 1785 ''Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals'', it is a way of evaluating motivations for action. It is best known in its original formulation: "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law."It is standard to also reference the ''Akademie Ausgabe'' of Kant's works. The ''Groundwork'' occurs in the fourth volume. Citations throughout this article follow the format 4:x. For example, the above citation is taken from 4:421. According to Kant, sentient beings occupy a special place in creation, and morality can be summed up in an imperative, or ultimate commandment of reason, from which all duties and obligations derive. He defines an ''imperative'' as any proposition declaring a certain action (or inaction) to be necessary. Hypothetical imperati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volition (psychology)
Volition or will is the cognitive process by which an individual decides on and commits to a particular course of action. It is defined as purposive striving and is one of the primary human psychological functions. Others include affect (feeling or emotion), motivation (goals and expectations), and cognition (thinking). Volitional processes can be applied consciously or they can be automatized as habits over time. Most modern conceptions of volition address it as a process of conscious action control which becomes automatized (e.g. see Heckhausen and Kuhl; Gollwitzer; Boekaerts and Corno). Overview '' Willpower'' and ''volition'' are colloquial and scientific terms (respectively) for the same process. When a person ''makes up their mind'' to do a thing, that state is termed 'immanent volition'. When we put forth any particular act of choice, that act is called an emanant, executive, or imperative volition. When an immanent or settled state of choice controls or governs a serie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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