Philopsphy paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philopsphy paper - Essay Example The concept of categorical imperative is deservingly considered to be the dominant in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. It states that a person should do something not because he wants to do this, but following the rule that is common for everybody and should be strictly followed. â€Å"All imperatives are expressed with an ‘ought’, which indicates how an objective law of reason relates to a will that isn’t constituted so as to be necessarily determined by it—namely, relating to it as a constraint. An imperative says that it would be good to do or to refrain from doing something, but it addresses this to a will that doesn’t always do x just because x is represented to it as good to do†(Kant 18) Kant states that if a person allows himself/herself to set the principle that will be followed only by him/her and not by the rest of the people, this person can be called immoral. Kant provides different examples to demonstrate how categorical imperativ e was derived. The most widespread example is a person’s request for money that he/she is not going to give back, notwithstanding that the promise is given by him/her. Kant states that if all the people break promises, they [promises] would not exist any more as people would stop believing them. Thus, promises should not be broken and there is a common law not to break the promises as this is not right. Here we meet the first reason why right is right and wrong is wrong. The actions fulfilled in accordance with the universal principles set in the society, which should be strictly followed by the people, are considered to be â€Å"right† and everything that contradicts this principle is â€Å"wrong†. Our actions should not be based on our desires, they should be implemented in accordance with the universal rule. The main thing is not to cause any harm to other people. Thus, if an action brings harm to people, as in our example, it can’t become a universal law and should not be followed. â€Å"Obviously the false promise isn’t made prudent by its merely extricating me from my present dif?culties; I have to think about whether it will in the long run cause more trouble than it saves in the present People’s loss of trust in me might be far more disadvantageous than the trouble I am now trying to avoid, and it is hard to tell whether it mightn’t be more prudent to act according to a universal maxim not ever to make a promise that I don’t intend to keep† (Kant 11). The conclusion can be made from the example that promises should not be broken as this causes harm to people. Any break of promise can be considered to be immoral. According to Kant, there is a universal law and it is immoral to break it. 2. According to Singer, we must not act so as to sacrifice a major interest for a minor interest. Explain why. Explain how this affects Singer’s views on the eating animals and use of them in experimen ts and his views on abortion and euthanasia. The philosophy of Peter Singler is very interesting and unique. According to Peter Singer, we should not sacrifice major interest to satisfy minor interest. Minor interest is the interest that may be ignored and we can easily do without its satisfaction. Major interest is more serious as if it is not satisfied it may cause a trouble. Single apply this statement to the issue of eating animals. He is against consuming the flesh of animals as considers the