1. Immanuel Kant’s moral imperative states that morality is objective.

For him there is a universal

law which dictates whether a person’s action is right or wrong and that everyone must obey
that certain law. It also states that one should treat people as having intrinsic value, and not
merely as means to achieve one’s end. Thus, Kant’s imperative can serve as a guide on one’s
decision with regards to the following: suicide, theft, lying, and borrowing without the capacity
to pay back. Following Kant’s imperative, a person must not take away his own life and commit
self-emulation. Committing suicide is a violation of humanity which is an objective law. It does
not matter even if the intention of the person committing it is valid or not. Because it violates
the objective law, it is considered as wrong. It is also wrong for a person to take what is not his.
He should not steal from other people regardless of the circumstances he is in. Lying is morally
wrong whatever reason the person has. This action cannot be universalized. Even white lies
which are committed to protect oneself is wrong because in doing so you are treating other
people as means to protect yourself. Lastly, it is wrong to borrow anything if you do not have
the capacity to pay it back. The same as lying, doing so is using other people as means to benefit
yourself since you do not have the capacity to pay it back. Thus, a person’s action would be
considered as immoral if it contradicts the universal law of morality regardless of the
consequences that the action would bring.

2. John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism states that an action is right if it would be beneficial and bring
happiness to the majority or to the greatest number of people. An example of this is mining.
Even though mining brings harm to our environment, if it brings benefits and happiness to most
of the people, then it is considered ethical. It focuses on the consequences rather than the
intention of the person. If the consequence of one’s action brought an outcome beneficial for
the greatest number of people, it would be considered as right regardless of the intention of the
person who committed the action. Regarding self-emulation, even if the intention of the person
is not correct, if it results to something that would benefit the most, then it would be acceptable
and be considered as correct.