KANTIAN ETHICS (AQA)
Question bundle (5,12,25)
,Kantian revision questions 5 markers:
1. Why is Kantian ethics classed as act-centred as opposed to agent centred?
a. Agent centred is concerned with not what goodness is but how to become good people,
it takes upon a holistic account of the individual’s life, ethics is concerned with the whole
of a person’s life instead of discrete actions a person performs, whereas act centred the
morality is found in duties itself, doing the right thing which is the motivation of our duty
2. Why is Kantian ethics classed as deontological rather than consequentialist?
a. Kantian ethics is deontological as the theory focuses on whether the action is right or
wrong itself, whereas consequentialist focuses on whether an action is right or wrong
depending on its consequences, teleological theories are concerned with purpose/ end
goal of actions
3. According to Kant what is a good will?
a. Good will is the source of all moral worth, one which acts for the sake of duty, someone
with goodwill is someone who does things for the right reasons. “It is impossible to
conceive of anything at all in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good
without qualification except good will
4. What does Kant mean when he says a good will is the only good with qualification?
a. Goodwill is only good without qualification as anything else can be bad or contribute to
what is bad e.g., intelligence & self-control is good but they can enable someone to do
bad things, neither is happiness as you can get happiness from hurting someone, having
morally good will is a precondition to deserving happiness
5. Why does Kant believe a good will is the source of moral worth?
a. What is good about good will is not about what it achieves, does not derive from a
result, it is rather good in itself. If someone tries their hardest to do what’s morally right
but does not succeed, their efforts should be still praised
6. What is the significance of Kant’s claim that a good will is the course of moral worth?
a. Good will is to do one’s duty because it is one’s duty, morality is a set of principles for
everyone, concept of duty is for everyone, goodwill is a will that chooses what it does,
motivated by principle for everyone
7. How does Kant differ from utilitarianism in his views on the source of moral worth?
a. Kant’s view of moral worth of an action is an action which is done out of good will, a
sense of duty & the right thing to do is the sole motivation for an action to be carried
out, however utilitarian bases moral worth of actions based on the happiness & pleasure
produced by an action, the greatest amount of pleasure for the greatest numbers
8. What is the shopkeeper example and how can it be used to illustrate Kant’s views on the source
of moral worth?
a. 2 shopkeepers, one is honest with customers because he likes them & feels a sense of
loyalty to the friendships made, other shopkeeper does the right thing because he
believes it is the right thing to do, this is acting out of duty, both actions are morally right
however shopkeeper B has a higher moral value as he is solely doing the right thing from
the motive its his duty, to have good will is to be motivated by duty.
9. What does Kant mean when he describes humans are imperfectly rational beings?
a. Perfectly rational is when we would always do the morally right thing, Kant says humans
are imperfectly rational as we are driven by desires and instincts, however we can
reason unlike animals, so a mixture of reason and desire is what makes an imperfect
, rational. Reasons is how we should behave morally, desires mixed in is how we should
behave non-morally.
10. Why can humans experience the call of duty but God and animals cannot?
a. God or any perfectly rational being would not experience the call of duty as they would
not experience the tension between desire and reason as a perfectly rational would do
the morally right thing always, animals do not have the ability to reason so they also do
not experience this tension. Imperfectly rational humans have a mixture of desire and
reasoning and therefore can experience the call of duty
11. What is the difference between autonomy and heteronomy?
a. Ability to reason and follow moral laws what gives humans their autonomy, autonomy is
the ability to know what morality requires of us, heteronomy is the condition on acting
on desires, not legislated by reason
12. Why are heteronomous acts unworthy of praise?
a. They are acts worth of moral upraise as they were acts put into practice mainly acting on
desires, an act has worth if the sole reason is duty is the motivation, or doing the duty
because it is the right thing to do
13. What is the relationship between freedom, reason, autonomy and morality?
a. Kant believes that it is our ability to reason and follow moral laws which is what gives
humans their autonomy, animals follow desires and instincts all the time so you cannot
say they are free, humans are free as they have the ability to reason whereas animals do
not.
14. Explain the moral worth of the following acts with reference to the distinction between acting in
accordance with duty and acting out of duty
a. A doesn’t lie out of reverence for the moral law (i.e. duty)
i. This has high moral worth & is done out of duty as their sole motivation to carry
out the action is because they feel it is their duty
b. B doesn’t lie as it makes them feel uncomfortable
i. Act in accordance with duty as their motivation to carry out the duty is the
desire not to be uncomfortable, although not lying is morally right, there is no
moral worth
c. C doesn’t lie out of reverence of the moral law & it does not make them feel
comfortable
i. Has low moral worth, as it is mixed the reasoning with desire, however an
element of duty is still present which presents some moral worth, acting in
accordance of duty
15. According to Kant why are moral laws like scientific laws?
a. Scientific laws are objective & universal and moral laws should have similar features, this
should be objective and universal, a scientific law is a principle you can apply to a
specific instance, a moral law is a rule on how you should act in general and then apply
them to certain circumstances
16. What is the first formulation of Kant (the categorical imperative)?
a. Act on a maxim which you can at the same time will it should become a universal law,
also known as the categorical imperative, based on morally not based on any conditions
or desires, categorical imperatives should be based on rationality and reasoning alone,
desires are not universal and therefore cannot be universalised.
17. How does Kant reason from autonomy to the universal law formula?
