Immanuel Kant
Today, Immanuel Kant is still considered one of business ethics' most predominate philosophers. Thus in a way, the study of business ethics is founded on the ideas floated by Kant and those who shared in his opinions. In this text, I will develop a brief bibliography of Immanuel Kant and later describe the contributions he made to the study of Business Ethics.

Immanuel Kant: A Brief Bibliography

Born in 1724 at Konigsberg, East Prussia, Immanuel Kant spent his first formative years with his devout evangelical Protestant family (artin and Bailey, 2011). In away, his family's modest means were not sufficient to guarantee Kant Enrolment in a reputable school. Kant was however soon enrolled in a respected local secondary school by a Lutheran pastor who identified young Kant's unique talents. Later on, Kant got a place at a Pietist institution where he became primarily interested in Latin classics. The school was Collegium…...

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Martin, R.M & Bailey, A. (2011). First Philosophy: Fundamental Problems and Readings in Philosophy, Volume 2. New York: Broadview Press.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2010, May 20). Immanuel Kant. Retrieved January 25th, 2012, from:  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/ 

White, J.E. (2008). Contemporary Moral Problems, (9th Ed.). New York: Cengage Learning.

Immanuel Kant
easons for Kant's Belief that there are No Exceptions to the Duty Not to Lie

Lying involves making a statement that is largely untruthful. Kant believes that there can be no exceptions to the duty not to lie - regardless of the consequences. For instance, he argues that it is wrong to lie to a would-be murderer, in order to save the life of an innocent child. In this case, the would-be murderer has set out on a murder course, and hence forfeited his own right. Lying to him would amount to violation of his rights. Kant's view is that any lie, regardless of circumstances, disregards goodwill, goes against the motive and principle of duty, and is not in conformity with the universality principle.

With regard to lying and goodwill, it should be noted that in life, "we have to struggle against unruly impulses and desires; a good will is manifested…...

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References

Immanuel, K. (2012). The Moral Law: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. New York: Routledge.

Poel, I.V. & Royakkers, L. (2011). Ethics, Technology and Engineering: An Introduction. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.

Immanuel Kant
Freedom Motive and Duty

Kant believed possessing and maintaining one's moral goodness is the very condition under which anything else is worth having or pursuing. Intelligence and even pleasure are worth having only on the condition that they do not require giving up one's fundamental moral convictions. The value of a good will thus cannot be that it gains certain valuable ends, whether of our own or of others, since their value is entirely conditional on our possessing and maintaining a good will. Its goodness must not depend on obtaining any particular ends. A good will must then also be good in itself and not in virtue of its relationship to other things such as an individual's own happiness or overall welfare.

A good will is a will whose decisions are wholly determined by moral demands or Moral Law. Human beings view this Law as a constraint on their desires, and…...

Kant would certainly agree with Cohen, but there are many who criticize that view as outdated and inhumane.
Kant's views do not acknowledge that animals could have feelings. Singer continues, "[W]e know that these animals have nervous systems very like ours, which respond physiologically like ours do when the animal is in circumstances in which we would feel pain: an initial rise of blood pressure, dilated pupils, perspiration, an increased pulse rate, and, if the stimulus continues, a fall in blood pressure" (Singer). Anyone who has interacted with animals has seen an animal react sharply to pain or punishment, and many studies have been completed that animals have complex brains, and some have extremely complex societies, with clear leaders and pecking orders, such as wolves and elephants. Animals can express their pain with cries, screams, and avoidance of the things that cause pain, which means not only do they feel…...

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References

Cohen, Carl. "The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research." Rice University. (1986). 6 Dec. 2006. http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~norcross/Cohen.pdf

Gruen, Lori. "The Moral Status of Animals." Stanford University. (2003). 6 Dec. 2006.  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-animal/ 

Singer, Pete. "Do Animals Feel Pain?" AnimalConcerns.org. (1990). 6 Dec. 2006. http://articles.animalconcerns.org/ar-voices/archive/pain.html

Zak, Steven. "Ethics and Animals." Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Science, Technology, and Society, Fifth Edition, Thomas A. Easton, ed. New York: McGraw Hill/Duskin. 2002, pp. 278-286.

Immanuel Kant that the particular divisions of ancient philosophy be explained so that he may offer his reconciliation between the major accomplishments of the past by avoiding their drawbacks. Essentially, many of Kant's philosophical efforts can be seen as innovative reactions to the brilliantly constructed skepticism of David Hume. Hume made it obvious that both the rationalists and empiricists must be wrong -- or at least only partially right -- so Kant must emphasize their differences in order to offer his alternative marriage between material and form.
Kant is a rationalist of a specific kind. He believes that the a priori deductive reasoning of previous rationalists must be groundless -- it is not rooted in the human experience. Nevertheless, he still believes that the human mind is centrally what stands at the crossroads of decision; rational thought, he contends, can lead us to determining the morality of our actions. It…...

Kant, Hanslick and Music
Kant and Hanslick on Music and the Beauty Thereof

Several theories have been formulated regarding how art should be evaluated aesthetically and how this aesthetic evaluation can be applied to music. hile some contend that aesthetics and music should be evaluated from a Marxist perspective in which socio-historic factors are taken into consideration, others contend that a work of art should be judged based upon its form or structure. In order to better understand what can and is considered beautiful, one can look to Immanuel Kant's The Critique of Judgment; likewise, Eduard Hanslick in Vom Musikalisch-Schonen: Ein Betrag Zur Revision der Asthetik der Tonkunst (On the Musically Beautiful: A Contribution Towards the Revision of the Aesthetics of Music) is able to build upon Kant's arguments regarding beauty and attempt to define what makes music aesthetically pleasing.

Music is a special kind of art because it is considered to be…...

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Works Cited

"Classicism and the Avant-Garde in 19th-Century Music." PowerPoint Presentation. Fall 2011.

Graham, Gordon. Philosophy of the Arts: An Introduction to Aesthetics. New York: Routledge,

2005. Print.

Hanslick, Eduard. On the Musically Beautiful: A Contribution Towards the Revision of Aesthetics

Moral Objectivism: Utilitarianism vs. Kantian Deontology
There are Four Parts Total. You must Complete All Four.

"Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do." (a) What does Jeremy Bentham mean by this quote? (b) How does Robert Nozick's main point in "The Experience Machine" bear on the view(s) that Bentham presents in this quote? (c) Explain the differences between Bentham and John Stuart Mill in regards to the issue of what makes one pleasure more valuable than another.

Bentham is something of a materialist who believes that people make decisions based on their own personal utility. For example, if you believe that the risk associated with robbing a bank than the potential gain then you would rationally carry out the act. If you believed…...

Engagements in actions that are thought to be virtuous make one to be virtuous. On the other hand, immorality arises when a person has filed to live up to the requirements of the good habits and actions expected of him or her. Deontologists take positive actions as the posterior characteristics. Utilitarian theory claims that the product of an act determines whether it is a virtue or vice. If the product of an act produces happiness to a greater population, then it is virtuous. On the other hand, if the action yields happiness to a small number of people, then it does not qualify to be called a virtue; it is a vice.
Why John Stuart Mill ethical theory of utilitarianism is hedonistic

Utilitarian theory is hedonistic because Mill inserts the facets of quantitative and qualitative approaches that exemplify the aspect of moral dilemma within the theory. According to utilitarianism, the product…...

Luther and Kant: Visions of Freedom
Freedom carries so many meanings, both denotations and connotations. Perhaps no concept has been hashed out more by western philosophers throughout the centuries. The ramifications of their arguments are vast: as "free" people, we lean heavily on the concept of freedom, but our laws and court cases constantly struggle to define what exactly we can and cannot do. May we burn the flag, for instance? Is that considered one of our "freedoms?" Or may we shout "Fire!" In a crowded theater? Martin Luther, in his "Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans" claims that people are free when their actions naturally mimic laws and morality to such an extent that those laws are rendered unnecessary. Immanuel Kant, in his "An Answer to the Question: hat is Enlightenment?" takes an apposite view: Freedom for Kant is the ability to wield one's reasoning without…...

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Works Cited

Luther, Martin. "Preface to Romans."

Kant, Immanuel. "What is Enlightenment?"

Because the imperative is something that stems from the rational will, adherence to it is really only adherence to the law that the will itself created. The will, that is, is acting as the will tells itself it has to. Due to the circular nature of the will's imperative to behave a certain way, obedience to the imperative is actually obedience to the self, and obeying moral law requires nothing more or less than complete self-direction. The premise that moral law -- the categorical imperative -- is born out of the rational will is central to Kant's theory of ethics: "each individual agent regards itself as determining, by its decision to act in a certain way, that everyone (including itself) will always act according to the same general rule in the future" (Kemerling 2002). This is why the imerative is categorical, or universal, and at the same time an…...

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References

Johnson, R. (2008). "Kant's Moral Philosophy." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed 22 September 2009.  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/#AutFor 

Kemerling, G. (2001). "Kant: The Moral Order." Philosophy Pages. Accessed 22 September 2009.

Enlightenment
relates man's freedom to his immaturity, with a special focus on man in relation to society. In "Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul" Martin Luther describes man's freedom in relation to Christian religion. These works not only differ in their content, but are contradictory in meaning, the differences stemming from the fact that Kant places society at the center of freedom while Luther places God at the center.

The first restriction on man's freedom presented is that of the law. However, Kant and Luther treat the law in very different ways. Luther argues that the law is more than just an action, and that one is not lawful unless they follow the law willingly, "His [God's] law must be fulfilled in your heart, and cannot be obeyed if you merely perform certain acts" (Luther 20). Luther's statement shows that there is more to law than merely obeying, the motivation…...

Philosophy of Alasdair MacIntyre [...] MacIntyre's criticism of duty-based and goal-based moral theory, and his reasons for preferring a right-based moral theory. It will also include reactions to his views and his virtue-based moral theory.
MACINTYRE'S MORAL THEORIES

MacIntyre criticizes duty-based and goal-based moral theories on several levels. He feels morals based on duty and goals are not virtuous, and therefore do not belong in moral theory, and that the moral character people develop from living by these theories is flawed. The child learning to play chess is an excellent example of both of these theories, and why MacIntyre feels they do not work. The child is not learning to play chess because it wants to learn. The child is learning to play chess because MacIntyre wants it to learn, and gives it a goal, candy, and a duty, "play with me." Eventually he hopes the child will derive satisfaction and…...

Kant and Rousseau
Reducing Conflicts Between States

The Theories of the Great Philosophers Rousseau and Kant

The great philosophers of the 18th century were the first of their kind to fully encapsulate what it meant to be an ethnocentric state, rather than a simple nation or territory, and also were the first philosophers able to address the question of war between states as not merely individual struggles for dominance, but rather persistent frictions present in the system of states themselves. The formal idea of statehood came of age in the Peace of estphalia in 1648, which ended the Thirty Year's ar, and affirmed the domination of the central government of each state as the supreme power of the land, rather than any religious or social power. At this time, every state was essentially a dictatorship, and the world was divided into fiefdoms. The peace reached at estphalia created the conditions for two philosophers…...

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Works Cited

Ferraro, V. (n.d.). The ruth c. lawson professor of international politics. Retrieved from  http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/kant/kant1.htm 

Jones, R. (2008). www.philosopher.org.uk. Retrieved from  http://www.philosopher.org.uk/rom.htm .

Munkler, H. (n.d.). Retrieved from  http://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-iraqwarphiloshophy/article_1921.jsp 

Rousseau, J.J. (1917). A lasting peace through the federation of europe and the state of war. London, England: Constable and Co. Retrieved from  http://oll.libertyfund.org

If Kant's points are to be assimilated when adopting a moral stance which is consistent with man's dignity, such absolute terms are inevitably defined by dominant social structures, bringing us to the application of a normative theoretical structure. The inextricable relationship which theology and morality have shared throughout history tends to have a tangible impact on the way these hegemonic standards are defined.
And Kant, rejects any flexibility outright, however. Beyond its deviation from his established disposition toward moral absolutes, such variation violates Kant's maxim about man as an end rather than a means. Man is to be the motive for moral acts, with his dignity defining right and wrong. Indeed, as he pointedly phrases it, "the laws of morality are laws according to which everything ought to happen; they allow for conditions under which what ought to happen doesn't happen." (Kant, 1)

Counter-argument:

Like Kant, Camus asserts a clear ethical rejection…...

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Works Cited:

Camus, a. (1942). The Myth of Sisyphus. Vintage.

Kant, Immanuel. 1785. Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. Jonathan Bennett.

According to Aristotle, a man's true worth is known by his deeds that is how he acts and reacts in certain situations. He holds the view that a person's actions can be judged by a certain standard of perfection which he calls 'good'.
Conclusions

Critique of Judgment is a masterpiece of Kant that attempts to correlate aesthetic and moral judgments. In his work he tries to find moral dimensions to concepts of sublimity and beauty. He also put forward his ideas on art and considers beauty as it essential component. In certain parts of his writing he posits that beauty can be considered superior to art on the basis of its purposiveness. He shows that nature or natural beauty is compatible with morally good and that our moral ideas are well-matched with nature. His work expounds on art, beauty, morality and ethics. His series of critiques with last one as the…...

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References

PHILOSOPHY OF ART HUME AND KANT: Summary and Comparison', Retrieved December 16, 2006, at  http://www.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/phil%20of%20art/hume_and_kant.htm#4 

Island of Freedom: Immanuel Kant 1724-1804, Retrieved December 16, 2006, at  http://www.island-of-freedom.com/KANT.htm 

Aristotle (384-322 BCE): General Introduction. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Retrieved December 16, 2006, at  http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/aristotl.htm 

Critique of Judgment. The Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Retrieved December 16, 2006, at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critique_of_Judgment

1. Analyze Thomas Aquinas' Five Ways to prove the existence of God and evaluate their effectiveness in addressing modern scientific and philosophical challenges.
2. Compare and contrast Thomas Aquinas' views on natural law and ethics with those of other prominent philosophers, such as Aristotle or Immanuel Kant.
3. Investigate how Thomas Aquinas' theology influenced the development of Western Christian thought and the relationship between faith and reason in his writings.
4. Examine Thomas Aquinas' concept of the soul and its relationship to the body, and explore how it differs from other philosophical and theological perspectives on the nature of the human person.
5. Discuss....

The dynamic intersection between philosophical ethics and Christian theology is a complex and rich area of study that involves examining the moral principles and values that guide human behavior and decision-making, in both secular and religious contexts. This paper aims to explore this intersection, tracing the historical development of ethical thought in Western philosophy and Christian theology, and examining the ways in which these two disciplines have influenced each other over time.

One of the central themes in this exploration is the concept of moral realism, which asserts that moral values and principles are objective and independent of human beliefs or....

Essay Topic 1: Moral Recognition Therapy: A Path to Recovery or Ethical Overreach?

This essay topic explores the potential benefits and ethical concerns surrounding moral recognition therapy (MRT). Supporters argue that MRT, by fostering self-awareness and accountability, can empower individuals in recovery to break free from destructive patterns and make amends for past actions. Opponents, on the other hand, contend that the therapy's emphasis on morality and shame can be harmful, particularly for individuals who have experienced trauma or childhood adversity. This essay should consider both sides of the argument, weighing the therapeutic value of MRT against the risks of ethical....