Kant and Mills Theories Essay example - 2128 Words

Kant and Mills Theories In July of 1994, Paul J. Hill, a former Presbyterian minister and later a pro-life activist, was prosecuted for killing Dr. John Britton, an abortion performing doctor, and James Barrett, a volunteer, outside a clinic in Pensacola, Florida. Prior to this, Hill commented on the murder of Dr. David Gunn, another abortion performing doctor, stating that it was a â€Å"biblically justified homicide (P. 215).† This statement shows how strong Hill’s beliefs were and leads one to assume that he did not regret killing Britton and Barrett. This paper will address the Hill case and determine the ethical parameter in which Paul Hill should have acted. The two philosophical approaches that will be examined and contrasted are†¦show more content†¦Kant upheld systematic laws as the model of rational principles. A characteristic of systematic laws is that they are universal, such as the law that when heated, gas will expand. Kant thought that moral laws or principles must hav e universality to be rational. He derives the categorical imperative out of the notion that we should be willing to adopt those moral principle that can be universalized, that is, those which we can imagine that everyone could act upon or adopt as their principle. Thus, the first formulation of the categorical imperative is, â€Å"Never act in such a way that I could not also will that my maxim should be a universal law (P.31).† By maxim, he means the rule or principle on which you act. Consider the example Kant gives of giving a false promise. Making false promises is wrong and therefore could not be a universal law, because every rational being would not adopt this as a principle of action. In the Hill case, if Paul Hill kills the doctor than it is morally permissible for everyone else to kill someone they disagree with. Therefore, Hill’s actions were not justified, because killing cannot be a universal law. Kant also believes that human beings have â€Å"unconditional worth.† In his passage of, â€Å"The Ultimate worth of Persons,† he says: Now, I say, man and, in general, every rational being exists as an end in himself andShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Golden Rule in Kant and Mills Ethical Theories1320 Words   |  6 Pagesbad and right or wrong. It is a theory dealing with values that relate to human behaviour; with respect to their actions and purpose. The two most important philosophers that deal with ethics are Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. Kant’s ethical theory is Kantianism or deontological ethics. Mill’s ethical theory is utilitarianism. Both philosophers’ theories have many differences; Kant’s theory deals with conduct, seeking reason for good action in duty. Mill’s theory deals with consequences and maximizingRead MoreKant And Mill : Morality As A Responsibility Towards Positive Impacts1578 Words   |  7 PagesBoth Kant and Mill describe morality as a responsibility towards positive impacts. Kant views morality as thought out actions leading to positive outcomes for o thers through means of using ones conscience (Kant, Immanuel, 2). Therefore, a person’s actions should result in a positive impact on others, and a person should think carefully before doing something to ensure that. Immorality as defined by Kant describes self-centered actions that do not benefit any other human being while Mill’s theory focusesRead MoreThe Differences Between Moral Motivation1390 Words   |  6 PagesUtilitarianism Among the history of moral philosophy, two major philosophers, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill from the 18th and 19th century have come up with two different moral theories for the moral philosophy. 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This, he adds, was influenced by his originality, subtle approach and the difficulty of his works. Timmons cites that moral requirements are a requirement of reason, which is the ideology of Kant’s Moral theory; hence, immoral act is an act against reason. Consequently, speaking on the terminologies of Kant we visualize moral requirements as CategoricalRead MoreKantian Ethics vs. Utilitarianism1714 Words   |  7 Pageshas found its place in the construction of many systems of morality such as John Stuart Mill’s theory of Utilitarianism. In teleological approaches to morality, questions of right and wrong, or the notion what an individual ought to do, are determined by the consequences of a given action. One thinker to reject this idea of consequentialism was Immanuel Kant. In his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant endeavors to e stablish a system of ethics that has no trace of the empirical nature of