Kant (5)

Humanity as an end in itself

3 formulations of the CI Universal law formulation: Act only according

to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law (421).

Formula of humanity: Act always so as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of anyone else, never merely as a means but always at the same time as an end (429).

Formula of autonomy: Reject all maxims that are not consistent with the will's own legislation of universal law (431).

Law of nature formulation?

“Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a universal law of nature” (421)

Not a separate formulation, but a procedure for applying the CI (the CI procedure)

Deriving the formulations Point of this is to reveal the moral

law as a “law of freedom” The “derivation” proceeds by

looking at the CI procedure from different points of view

These points of view exist in a hypothetical community whose members follow the CI procedure

Formulations and points of view

FORMULATION POINT OF VIEW

Universal law --of the agent as subject to themoral law, wanting to knowwhat it requires of him

Humanity --of persons affected by actionsregulated by the CI procedure

Autonomy --of the agent as someone whoactively carries out the CIprocedure

Reasonable and rational Rational: choosing effective means to

one’s ends Reasonable: acting from interpersonally

justifiable principles When the text says “rational”

(vernünftig), Kant often means rational and reasonable

Practical reason respects both rationality and reasonableness

What is “humanity”?

Our status as “rational and reasonable” beings in the order of nature

Our status as “animated practical reason”

CI respects humanity

How are persons treated by the CI procedure?

They must be able to find the agent’s action reasonable

Thus their humanity is respected It is respected as an end and never

merely as a means

Respect for humanity as an end:

Requires us to restrict the means we are willing to employ to achieve our ends

Deceitful promise illustrates this So does Kant’s suicide example

Respect for humanity as an end:

Helps to determine our ends We must nurture our humanity--those

capacities that make us “animated practical reason” (K’s 3rd example)

One of these is the capacity to set ends We respect this capacity in others by

giving their ends some weight in our deliberations (K’s 4th example).