Immanuel Kant

1724- 1804
Biography
&
Life Story
IMMANUEL KANT
• Born
 on April 22, 1724
 at Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia)

• Died
 February 12, 1804
 Kaliningrad, Prussia
 age 80

• German Philosopher
 whose comprehensive and systematic work in epistemology,
ethics, and aesthetics greatly influenced all subsequent
philosophy, especially the various schools of Kantianism and
idealism.
IMMANUEL KANT
• He was the fourth of the nine Children

• Parents
 Father: Johann Georg Cant, a harness maker
 Mother: Anna Regina Cant

• Immanuel changed the spelling of his name to Kantto to

adhere to German spelling practices.

• In 1740, Kant enrolled at the University of Konigsberg as a

theology student, but was soon attracted to mathematics and
physics.
IMMANUEL KANT
• He has been describes as "one the the greatest
thinkers of all time"

• He was a creature of Habit

• Professor of Logic and Metaphysics

• An enlightenment philosopher from Prussia

 The Enlightenment
 A European intellectual movement of the late
17th and 18th centuries emphasizing Reason
and Individualism rather than Tradition.
IMMANUEL KANT
• In 1746, his father died and he was forced to leave the
university to help his family.

• In 1755,
 he returned to the University of Konigsberg to
continue his education
 he received his doctorate of philosophy

• In 1770, he became a full professor at the University of

Konigsberg, teaching metaphysics and logic.
IMMANUEL KANT
• In 1781, Immanuel Kant published the Critique of Pure
Reason

 an enormous work and one of the most important on

Western thought

 attempted to explain how reason and experiences interact

with thought and understanding.

 This revolutionary proposal explained how an individual’s

mind organizes experiences into understanding the way the
world works.
IMMANUEL KANT
• NOTABLE WORKS
 “Critique of Practical Reason” (1788)
 “Critique of Judgment”
 “Critique of Pure Reason” (1781)

• SUBJECTS OF STUDY
 political philosophy
 immortality
 existence of God
 teleology
 category
DEONTOLOGICAL

ETHICS
Deontology

Is an (ethical theory) regarding which choices

are morally required, forbidden, or
permitted.

guide and assess our choices

is a category of normative ethical theories is

primarily concerned with adherence to
certain rules or duties.
Deontological Ethics
Derived from the Greek word "deon"
means "Duty" and "ology"(study of)

Deon(duty) + ology(study of)= STUDY OF DUTY

Deontological Ethics is the STUDY OF DUTY.

also known as Kantian Ethics

Deontological Ethics
is an approach to Ethics that focuses on
the rightness or wrongness of actions
themselves.
CONSEQUENCES do NOT matter

INTENTION is relevant.
- I am acting a certain way only if I act for the
right reason.
Deontological Ethics
focuses on the protection of individual
and universal rights

BEHAVIOR rather than Consequences

The idea that people should be treated with

dignity and respect
Deontological Ethics

for example:

If I tell the truth because I know I must

respect the other person, then I act out
of duty and my action is right.
Deontological Ethics
 CATEGORICAL
IMPERATIVE
Categorical Imperative
is supposed to provide a way for us to evaluate
moral actions and to make moral judgments. It is
not a command to perform specific actions -- it
does not say, "follow the 10 commandments", or
"respect your elders". It is essentially "empty" -- it
is simply formal procedure by which to evaluate
any action about which might be morally relevant.
Categorical Imperative

They are "hypothetical imperatives"

- Kant means that the commands depend
upon the goals to be fulfilled.
Categorical Imperative
The Categorical Imperative is universal
and impartial .
universal because all people
impartial because their actions are not
guided by their own biases, but because they
respect the dignity and autonomy of every
human being and do not put their own
personal ambitions above the respect that
others deserve.
WHAT IS FUNCTION OF REASON?

It has theoretical function (science, for

example) and a practical function

practical function -- practical in the

sense that reason determines (along
with emotions and desires) human
behavior and choice.
PRACTICAL REASON

have two parts -- as a "means-ends"

function, and as the moral function.

Human reason is principally constituted

by the search for universality and
necessity
 Act according to the maxim that you

would wish all other rational people to

follow, as if it were a universal law.

Kant argues that there can be four formulations
of this principle:

The Formula of the Law of Nature:

"Act as if the maxim of your

action were to become through
your will a universal law of
nature."
Kant argues that there can be four formulations
of this principle:

The Formula of the End Itself:

"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."
Kant argues that there can be four formulations
of this principle:

The Formula of Autonomy:

"So act that your will can regard itself at

the same time as making universal law
through its maxims."
 Kantian
Religious
Ethics
Kantian Religious Ethics
is grounded in a practical philosophy where ‘God’ is subordinated

to moral principles. To accomplish this goal, Kant dismantled the

onto-theological groundwork of religion and the conventional

method of attaching morality to God, as if morality was a

consequence of religious belief.

Kantian Religious Ethics
In this essay, I will show how Kant replaces the metaphysics
of being with the metaphysics of morality. More
importantly, I will show how Kant’s thesis of moral theism
argues that the practical philosophy does not end with the
categorical imperative, but that Kant also thinks morality
inevitably leads to religious belief.
Kantian Religious Ethics
"The critique seems to be suspended from
nothing in heaven and supported by noting on
earth"

Panici and Dieter Henrik

"outside the human body"

Kantian Religious Ethics

Kant's theory of judgement

metaphysics