ETHICS |
Chapter 9 Kantian Theory : The Categorical Imperative |
Section 10. Problems |
Problems with Kant's Theory
1. The theory applies only to rational agents.
It would not apply to non-humans or to humans who are not rational,
e.g., humans with brain malfunctioning, illness or persistent vegetative
coma.
2. The theory cannot resolve conflicts between
duties:
a.
between two perfect duties
b.
between a perfect duty and an imperfect duty
How would a person resolve a conflict between two perfect duties such as never tell a lie and avoid harming someone? What if telling the truth were to harm someone?
How would you resolve the conflict between the
perfect duty, say to keep a promise to pick your friend up with you auto
at a certain time, and an imperfect duty, say to stop on the way to pick
up your friend in order to give CPR to someone, a stranger, and save that
stranger’s life?
3. A clever person could phrase the maxim to be
universalized in such a manner as to permit almost anything.
By placing qualifiers on the maxim or peculiar definitions on terms
a clever actor could satisfy the categorical imperative and yet be acting
in a manner otherwise not consistent with it.
What if someone were to promise to be faithful to his mate and not have sex with another woman. Then that person engages in oral and anal forms of physical interaction leading to orgasm and yet thinks that the promise was not broken because the meaning of “sex” did not include those forms of interaction.
Kant’s law and criticism
http://www.rsrevision.com/Alevel/ethics/kant/criticisms.htm
Kant’s links
http://comp.uark.edu/~rlee/semiau96/kantlink.html
There are other theories. We shall move on to examine them.
Proceed to the next section of the chapter by clicking here>> section.
© Copyright Stephen O Sullivan and Philip A. Pecorino 2002. All Rights reserved.
Return to: Table of Contents for the Online Textbook |