Kantian Ethics

Kant believed that certain types of actions (including murder, theft, and lying) were
absolutely prohibited, even in cases where the action would bring about more happiness than the
alternative.  For Kantians, there are two questions that we must ask ourselves whenever we
decide to act:  (i) Can I rationally will that everyone act as I propose to act?  If the answer is no,
then we must not perform the action.  (ii)  Does my action respect the goals of human beings
rather than merely using them for my own purposes?  Again, if the answer is no, then we must
not perform the action.  (Kant believed that these questions were equivalent).

Kant’s theory is an example of a deontological moral theory–according to these

theories, the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences but on
whether they fulfil our duty.

  According to Kant a good person is someone who always does their duty because it is
their duty.  It is fine if they enjoy doing it, but it must be the case that they would do it even if
they did not enjoy it.  The overall theme is that to be a good person you must be good for
goodness sake.

The Formula of Universal Law

"Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time wills that it should
become a universal law [of nature]."

A maxim is the rule or principle on which you act.  For example, I might make it my
maxim to give at least as much to charity each year as I spend on eating out, or I might make it
my maxim only to do what will benefit some member of my family. The basic idea on this, it is a
command states, crudely, that you are not allowed to do anything yourself that you would not be
willing to allow everyone else to do as well.  You are not allowed to make exceptions for
yourself.  For example, if you expect other people to keep their promises, then you are obligated
to keep your own promises.

More accurately, it commands that every maxim you act on must be such that you are
willing to make it the case that everyone always act on that maxim when in a similar situation. 
For example, if I wanted to lie to get something I wanted, I would have to be willing to make it
the case that everyone always laid to get what they wanted - but if this were to happen no one
would ever believe you, so the lie would not work and you would not get what you wanted.  So,
if you willed that such a maxim (of lying) should become a universal law then you would thwart
your goal - thus, it is impermissible to lie, according to the categorical imperative.  It is
impermissible because the only way to lie is to make an exception for you.

Rights Theory
Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) examined the idea of human rights within politics in such a
way that it “is only a legitimate government that guarantees our natural right to freedom, and
from this freedom we derive other rights”. From this basis it can be assumed that Kant looks at
the development, creation and implementation of rights as primarily dependent on the state and
how the government within the state functions. Furthermore, Kant stresses that a society can only
function politically in relation to the state if fundamental rights, laws and entitlements are given
and enhanced by the state. As Kant teaches, these “righteous laws” are founded upon 3 rational
principles:

1. The liberty of every member of the society as a man

2. The equality of every member of the society with every other, as a subject
3. The independence of every member of the commonwealth as a citizen.

An interesting aspect of these principles is that they are not given by the state, but are
fundamental in the creation and acceptance of a state by the people of the state. In this sense
Kant believes that these principles are necessary above all, not only for the founding of
“righteous laws”, but for the state to function in the first place. This is so because without the
acceptance of the people a state would not exist therefore rights are necessary within states to
keep the support of the people of the state.

Legal Rights Vs. Moral Rights

Legal Rights
 Refers to rights according to law. It exists under the rules of some particular legal system.
 Legal rights are, clearly, rights which exist under the rules of legal systems or by virtue of
decisions of suitably authoritative bodies within them.

Rights Based Theory

 Is a broad moral theory in which Kant’s principle of rights theory is included. The
concept of rights based ethics is that “there are some rights, both positive and negative,
that all humans have based only on the fact that they are human. These rights can be
natural or conventional. That is, natural rights are those that are moral while conventional
are those created by humans and reflect society’s values.

Examples of Rights Based Ethics System include the following:

a. The right to life
b. The right to liberty
c. The right to pursue happiness
d. The right to a jury trial
e. The right to a lawyer
f. The right to freely practice a religion of choice
g. The right to express ideas or opinions with freedom as an individual
h. The right of individuals or organizations to express opinions or share information freely in
written medium.
i. The right to come together and meet in order to achieve goals
j. The right to be informed of what law has been broken if arrested
k. The right to call witnesses to speak on one’s behalf if accused of a crime
l. The right of a person to be treated with respect and dignity even after being found guilty of a
crime
m. The right to freely live and travel within the country
n. The right to work
o. The right to marry
p. The right to bear children
q. The right to free education
r. The right to join any peaceful parties or groups of choice
s. The right to be free from slavery
t. The right to not be tortured

Moral Rights
 Are rights that “exist prior to and independently from their legal counterparts. The
existence and validity of a moral right is not deemed to be dependent upon the actions of
jurists and legislators.

It must be clear, therefore, that human rights cannot be reduced to, or exclusively identified
with legal rights. In fact, some human rights are best identified as moral rights. Human rights are
meant to apply to all human beings universally, regardless of whether or not they have attained
legal recognition by all countries everywhere.