In the hard determinist’s judgement, this feeling of freedom is an illusion. (Pereboom, 2009:324). Another argument against hard determinism would be if it were true we could not be accounted for when it comes to our actions, therefore we could do a morally wrong act and if it was determined then we would could not to blame, we did not have the free will to do that act it was determined to be done anyway. Also if we do a morally good act should we be praised for this? Hard determinists would say that it was not our free will that chose us to do this good act we were determined to do it anyway.
Their intention is all that matters. Kant focuses on what should be done, rather than doing things for their outcome. This means that even if something terrible happens as the result of a morally good action, it is still morally right. Kant had an absolute view that the right moral action must always be done. Kant tried to make moral ethics scientific through universalisation.
Moore would say we can see these self evident truths when, in an argument, we are reduced to “it’s just wrong,” they require no further explanation, proof or justification. This seems a fairly logical conclusion, in order to justify what we do we look at it in basic terms, but such a process could not take place indefinitely without coming to a base truth which could not be broken down further. It’s the classic “it just is” situation in an argument, where the statement cannot be further simplified nor justified. The problem however is agreeing on what these basic moral truths are. Moore and WD Ross a fellow intuitionist agreed that pleasure, knowledge and virtue are all intrinsically good, and pain, ignorance and vice are intrinsically bad.
According to Kant’s deontology, this would be perfectly reasonable. Although the universalizability system is clear, it doesn’t work and takes away from the adequacy of the theory. Secondly, we can explore the pragmatism of the theory. Again we can look at Kant’s belief that we should never consider our emotions when making an ethical decision. In a real
Kant devised two different types of imperatives which allow us to make our decisions, hypothetical imperatives are the rules that we follow to attain a personal outcome or a selfish wish whereas categorical imperatives are intrinsically right. His first categorical imperative was meant to establish that humans should only act according to a law that can be universalised. ‘’Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law’’ – (Kant the moral order). The second of the imperatives is that we as humans should never use another human as a means to an end, treat them all with value. ‘’Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end’’.
This means that the Kantian approach is based on the rules that apply to an action. Kant’s approach does not take into account what the resolution of the action might be, regardless of how positive the result may be. The determination of whether an action is morally acceptable is based on whether the action is performed out of duty. Any action that does not stem from a sense of duty can be seen as lacking in morality. The only action that Kant viewed as moral is goodwill.
This means that the only thing that makes and act morally wrong is that God either commands or prohibits it. Whether he will support or be against them, it is entirely up to him. This theory shows that actions can either be accepted or denied based solely upon God’s judgment and whether he agrees or disagrees with what is at hand. If God agrees with certain actions or circumstances, then it is right just because God says that it is right. But on the other hand, if God does not agree with certain actions or circumstances, then it is wrong because God says that it is wrong.
Moral Relativism cannot and does not accept the idea that an objective moral system exists. If it did, you could evaluate other ethical systems meaningfully. A moral relativist would ask such questions as ‘what do we mean by wrong?’ when making a decision on something deemed wrong. Relativism is in direct contrast with absolute morality that is deontological, referring to looking at the action in itself. A moral relativist would believe that there is no definite set of rules that apply universally.
The voice of conscience acts as a moral sensor, which is triggered whenever we face an ethical behaviour and fires the alarm once the morality is breached. Utterly, It is up to our will whether to listen irresistibly to the voice that is what Kant calls it “moral predisposition” or mute it which consequently leading to immoral behaviour. The previous argument explains the moral law imposed by Kant. Furthermore, he emphasised that people are rational beings act according to their morals, he considers people as a moral agent and ought to act morally and willingly motivated by the
On Liberty: Chapter 1 ( Harm Principle ) John Stuart Mill In On Liberty, Mill introduces his basic argument in favor of respecting liberty; to the extent it does not harm anybody else. Mill argues that the only time individuals or society as a whole can interfere with individual liberty is for self-protection. Mill states that the argument that a certain law or public opinion might be for an individual's own good or welfare doesn’t meet the needs in justifying that law or public opinion become a coercive force. Coercion is only acceptable when an individual poses a threat to others. It is fine to argue with a person about his actions, but not to force him.