2. Basic Assumptions
• No matter how morally good their consequences, some
choices are morally forbidden.
• What makes a choice right is its conformity with a moral
norm
• The Right is said to have priority over the Good
• If an act is not in accord with the Right, it may not be
undertaken, no matter the Good that it might produce
4. Kantianism
• Being good is a matter of reverence for duty.
• Ethical duties are the same for all.
• Ethical duty should not be based on the opinions of any
individual, group, tradition, faith, cultural norm or even
God’s will.
• Moral truth stand by itself; it is autonomous and self-
contained.
• What is our authority for ethics? The only ethical rules that
should be adopted are those that show themselves to be
logically consistent and which do not result in self-
contradiction.
5. Kantianism
• Moral principles that meet the demands of reason are
always valid for everyone.
• Reason is not only the judge, but also the source of right
and wrong. Rationality is what allows humans to be moral
beings.
• “It is impossible to conceive anything at all in the world, or
even out of it, which can be taken as good without
qualification, except a good will”.
• When properly used (rationally guided), will is good.
• How do you determine if your will is good?
6. The categorical imperative
• We should not act on any maxim we would not want to be
universalized.
• “Act in such a way that you always treat humanity,
whether in your own person or in the person of any other,
never simply as a means, but always at the same time as
an end”.
