Moral Acts
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1. Immanuel Kant distinguishes between acts that are performed out of duty and acts which are performed for the sake of duty, holding that those acts performed in accordance with duty but not from duty have no moral worth. In making this distinction, Kant is setting forth a moral principle in keeping with his view that morality does not derive from nature but from the mind, and it is what is intended that is important rather than what occurs without intent, even if the action is the same. Kant uses an example that shows the distinction. He cites the case of a dealer who does not overcharge an inexperienced purchaser. This is clearly in accordance with duty. However, the merchant refrains from overcharging and thus provides the same price for all so that all his customers can buy form him equally. He does this because it is to his advantage to do it and not because there is a moral principle involved, though the result is the same as if he were paying attention to duty. However, unless the individual is acting because of a moral duty, the action cannot be considered a moral action. For Kant, to act for the sake of duty means to act out of reverence for the moral law. He says that a good will is manifested in acting for the sake of duty. The good will, he says, is the only good without qualification. The good will is describe in terms very similar to those used for the question of duty. The statement that we have no right to happiness but only an obligation to
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combined with his rational understanding that achieving this required some consolidation with others into a social structure that would protect them all. For Hobbes and Kant alike, human beings have freedom to choose, and so the moral life has to be a choice. What is and is not moral is determined by natural law, but whether or not the individual chooses the moral life is a matter of the exercise of freedom of choice.
Kant's approach to morality goes directly to motivation and to the need for the individual to choose to be moral rather than merely to act in a moral fashion. That is, it is not enough that the individual's behavior conform to moral and ethical principles. That could happen if the individual acted out of inclination, and Kant offers several examples of actions which one would be inclined to take but which must be taken out of duty if they are to be assessed as moral. Kant's morality is based on volition--the individual has to choose to act in a moral fashion, specifically by fulfilling his or her duty and by living with a reverence for the moral law. This is why Kant says consequences are not the measure, since they come at the end of the process and not at the beginning. Of course, he also says that perceive
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Approximate Word count = 1364
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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