What is Kantianism ? Islamic Ethics

1. Kantianism

2. • What makes a right act right?
• -it is certain features in the act itself or the
rule of which the act is a token or example
that determine the rightness or wrongness of
an act
• -the end never justifies the means

3. • 2 kinds of deontological theories
• 1-act deontological system
• -right and wrong based on conscience or our
intuitions or a choice apart from any rules
• -conscience-to discover the morally right or
wrong to do

4. • -or nothing is right or wrong until we choose
for ourselves what is right or wrong

5. • Its disadvantages
• -it is hard to see how any argument could take
place with an intuitionist
• -the act of abortion
• 2-it seems that rules are necessary to all
reasoning, including moral reasoning

6. • 3-different situations seem to share common
features, so it would be inconsistent for us to
prescribe different moral actions

7. • 2-rule deontological system
• -it accepts the principle of universality as well
as the notion that, in making moral
judgments, we appealing to principles or rules
• It comprises of 2 types
• -rule intuitionism & rationalism or objectivism
& absolitism

8. Kant’s rule deontological system
• Introduction
• -1724-1804
• -was an absolutist as well as rationalist
• -reason can be use to work out a consistent,
non overridable sets of moral principles

9. • -the parents were Pietists in the Lutheran
church
• --who emphasized sincerity, deep feeling, &
moral life rather than theological doctrine
• --it is the religion of the heart, not the head
• --Kant emphasized the head as much as the
heart

10. • 3 factors influences
• 1- Pietism
• 2-the work of Rousseau (1712-1778) on
human freedom
• --the importance of man’s dignity
• --the intrinsic value of man apart from any
function they might perform

11. • --it is not correct belief/ result that really
matter but inner goodness
• --the idea is that God judges us not on how
successful we are in accomplishing our tasks
but how earnestly we have lived according to
our principle
• --the good will as the sole intrinsic good in life

12. • 3-the debate bet. Rationalism & empiricism
• -rationalist claimed that pure reason could tell
us how the world is, independent of
experience
• -empiricist denied that man has any innate
ideas and argued that all k/ledge comes from
experience

13. • -with regard to moral k/ledge,
• -the rationalist-man’s k/ledge of moral
principles is a type of metaphysical k/ledge,
implanted in us by God, and discoverable by
reason as it deduces general principles about
human nature

14. • -the empiricist-morality is founded entirely on
the contingencies of human nature and based
on desire
• -as for Kant, it is not desire that ground
morality but our rational will
• -the removal of moral truth from
contingencies & empirical observation to the
necessary, absolute, universal truth

15. Kant’s CI
• 3 formulations of CI
• 1-the principle of maxim and universal law
• -act only according to that maxim (general
rule that one intends to act) by which u can at
the same time will that it would become a
universal law (an objective principle)

16. • --if u could consistently will that e/one would
act on given maxim-that shows moral
responsibility of action
• -if not then the type of action is morally wrong

17. • -for Kant,
• --what make a person morally good is to have
a good will.
• --what kind of intention makes a person
morally good is the notion of duty
• --what does it mean for a person to act “from
duty” is to resolve to do whatever the moral
law obligates one to do, out of respect for the
law

18. • 2-the principle of end
• -act as to treat humanity, whether in ur own
person or in that of any other, in every case as
an end & never as a means
• --man as a rational being is having value which
entails that he never be exploited

19. • 3-the principle of autonomy
• -every rational being is able to regard oneself
as a maker of universal law; that is, we do not
need an external authority-be it God, the
state, the culture, an individual- to determine
the nature of the moral law
• In other words,

20. • -e/one who is ideally rational will legislate
exactly the same universal moral principle

21. • Islamic criticism
• 1-man as an independence source of moral
values
• -human rationality is central to the whole idea
of morality
• -though he is not the only rational, others are
not human

22. • 2-Its moral principles/ maxims is subjective
• -any type of action in any type of
circumstances for a reason( be acted on by all
rational being in similar circumstances)
doesn’t reflect the universality

23. • 3-Good will as the universal of lawgiver
• -to act morally is to freely choose n make the
moral decision
• -without look to society, gov, religious
• leader, God for our moral decision, desire,
preference for these will end up to self love

24. • Intention -Islamic View
• I)It include of 3 elements
• 1)to u/stand of what one is doing(knowledge)
• 2)to want to do it(will)
• 3)to want it precisely bcoz it is comanded

25. • II)intention as a condition of validity
• (x knowledge) X (x will) = x responsibility
• unconscious X involuntary act= x qualified for
good or bad
• conscious X involuntary act=x qualified for
good or bad

26. • III)Intention and nature of moral action
• good/bad intention rely on its agreement
/disagreement with the law
• -it disregard the absolute good without
restriction (to justify error as virtue)good
intention X bad action= ?
• Bad intention X good action= ?

27. • IV)Its prevalence (commonness) over the
action
• -Intention = 2maintain purity of the heart
• -Act =2 develop the wellbeing of the fellow
man
• ---decision making faculty + power of
execution

28. conclusion
• Does it enough by itself????????
• Action X (intention-bad)=?
• Action X (intention-flawed)=?
• Bad action X (intention-good)=?