Topic

Kant

Rand

Values

Human beings are ends-in-themselves, of ultimate intrinisc worth and value.

Our own life is our own ultimate value.  Life itself is the means to its own end.

Relationship: Life, values, action

·        Morally right maxims are not and cannot be essentially self-seeking

·        objects of inclinations have only a conditional worth; we should wish to be wholly free of them (else slave to desires & only hypothetical imperatives / Hume)

·        good will is based soley on duty (intentions of) and not because of any effect - the standards must hold universally and absolutely

·        sought to unite the actor and beneficiary, reasserting the “right to a moral existence.”

·        what is of value - to whom and for what?

·        Three cardinal values: Reason, Purpose, Self-Esteem

·        achievement and maintenance of value requires course of action.  Good is in relationship to man.

·        The productive, creative act of thought aims for the consumption and enjoyment of deeply spiritual and material needs

Human nature

·        laws needed because people do act egoistically (from self-interest); “inextirpable propensity for evil”

·        people do act egoistically without regard for how others are affected

·        philosophers made mistake in confusing morality & happiness

·        innate ‘predisposition’ toward having morally good character, since we know we are obligated to respect and obey the moral law.

·        We are all free moral agents who ought to focus on ability and obligation to act morally

·        Man is neither evil, nor good, by nature; he is rational by nature.  To the extent that we are to survive, is to the extent we must use the tool of rationality.

·        ethics demands that for humans “to be” humans, they must choose to act rationally.  In this sense we are free, moral agents.

·        Humans can and often do act against their nature; they act irrationally

·        We are free to “think or not to think,” to “focus or not to focus”

Rationality

·        we must innately possess correct understanding of morality and its norms

·        appeal to principle of noncontradiction: absurdity of - ‘any action that clashes with everyone’s freedom is just

·        people do employ categorical imperative: ‘what if everybody did this (maxim)?’

·        Categorical Imperative commands us to act independently of all empirical consideration: free, autonomous, moral agents

·        pure practical reason has connative power to motivate us to act morally (out of respect for the law)

·        Reason is the engine of purposeful living.

·        Reason is employed in choosing goals and values for individual life

·        If reason is how we gain knowledge, then it is how we survive, therefore we ought to employ reason if we value our lives and choose to live.

·        Reversed cogito:  “I am, therefore I will think!”

·        Rational-selfishness is one concept within Objectivism; we are most selfish when pursuing our own rationally defined values and interests, and most rational when values and interests are self-motivated

Emotions; human relations

·        must not act to have good feelings, but rather solely on reason in response to respect for moral law (duty)

·        We have positive duties to help others, yet we must not get too “intimate” with them

·        emotional love tends to draw people closer, and threatens respect for one another; moral respect limits intimacy

·        An ethics with “relations between strangers”

·        Do not accept favors if at all possible

·        “law of love” is practical attitude about how we should act toward others, out of respect as persons per se, and not because their happiness is of concern to us personally

·        Do things for other, by choice,  out of a sense of value for that individual person

·        Developing deep personal relationships may be of highest value and contribute to lasting happiness

·        Love is the most selfish emotion there is (which is good); unselfish love is an oxymoron and of no value

Evil / Vice

·        dichotomy: law of autonomy, or principle of self-love.

·        jealousy, envy, malice

·        Revolt against rationality. Evil can only destroy, it cannot create; can only take away what others have created

Trader Principle

·        govmn’ts intrude far too much in ordinary citizens’ lives

·        favors egalitarian gov’t, but this does not mean ‘even playing field’

·        universality within the Categorical Imperative becomes a criterion of reciprocity

·        must respect freedom, autonomy and intrinsic worth of each person

·        do not help others when it interferes with their autonomy or self-respect

·         

·        Requires limited government (and pure Capitalism)

·        Never live for the sake of others, nor ask others to live for your sake.  Do not sacrifice yourself nor ask others to sacrifice themselves for your ends.

·        Trading value for value: recognizes neither masters nor slaves

·        Respects autonomy and worth of others

·        Do not help others unless this is what you want to do.  One is not obligated to help others pursue their happiness

Self-esteem; virtues

·        treat others (and yourself)  as an end and never as a means only

·        primary duty is toward ourselves - to be ‘manly’ - to be a person of moral worth.

·        Tend to happiness so not tempted to neglect our duties.  Not self-favour but self-esteem should be principle of duties towards ourselves.

·        Develop talents from sense of duty, and to help others

·        Objective absolute standards for character traits / virtues

·        Self-esteem has exalted position; necessary to feel worthy of happiness; worthy of living

·        Earned by consistently applying thought to action

·        Three virtues (corresponding to three values above): Rationality, Productiveness, Pride.  Virute is One, each component reciprocates the others.   Independence, integrity, honesty: derivatives of rationality

·        Develop talents for most efficacious living;

·        Character and virtues are measured within context of reality; one’s life: not intrinsically absolute

happiness

·        we have only fuzzy notion of what constitutes happiness; no principle for obtaining lasting happiness.

·        Some are happy, but morally lacking; and vice versa.

·        Good Will is the moral standard.  One’s intentions must be genuine, with a motive from dutifulness.

·        In using categorical imparative, we are not concerned with happiness per se, but with formal, logical consequences.

·        a moral person is not necessarily happy

·        dual nature: as moral beings - strive for moral well-being - i.e., virtue; as moral beings with a physical nature, also strive for natural well-being, ie. happiness.

·        moral obligation to contribute to happiness of others, regardless of whether that person is of special concern

·        not obligated, however, to sacrifice own happiness

·        We have only an indirect duty to tend to own happiness, when “unsatisfied wants” tempt us to neglect duties

·        Happiness is the purpose of ethics, but not the standard, since it is not an end in itself.

·        Happiness is a complex derivative emotion emerging from the integrated achievement of one’s values.

·        Conscious, articulated, principled pursuit of goals make human living both possible and desirable.

·        Self-actualization is at the core of Objectivism.

·        A moral person is necessarily [striving to be] happy, in that the ultimate value is one’s own life.

·        It is good to love one’s own life and pursue one’s self-interests, as long as you are not requiring others to sacrifice