Immanuel Kant - Metaphysics of Morals Essay Example for Free

Immanuel Kant Metaphysics of Morals Essay In his publication, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant supplies his readers with a thesis that claims morality can be derived from the principle of the categorical imperative. The strongest argument to support his thesis is the difference between actions in accordance with duty and actions in accordance from duty. To setup his thesis, Kant first draws a distinction between empirical and a priori concepts. Empirical concepts are ideas we reach from our experiences in the world. On the other hand and in contrast, a priori concepts are ideas we reach as an end point of reasoning prior to or apart from any experience of how things occur in the world. Kant then claims that moral actions are supposed done for the reason of morality alone. This train of thought leads to the conclusion that an understanding of morality must be based on a priori concepts of reason. Truly moral ideas are then universally valid if and only if they are based on a priori concepts. From this idea of a priori concepts, Kant begins his thesis with the notion that the only thing in the world that is a qualified good is the good will, even if its efforts bring about a not necessarily good result. A good will is good because of the willing that is involved. Two main implications arise with this idea of the good will. The first implication is moral actions cannot have impure motivations. There are many impure motivations but Kant tends to focus mainly on the motives of the pursuit of happiness and self-preservation. Second, moral actions cannot be based on the speculations of the probable results. This action is not good in itself but good because it brought about a more desirable outcome. Thus, Kant arrives at the conclusion that for an action to be considered to have genuine moral worth its motive must be that of dutifulness to moral law. In Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant lays out three propositions about duty. The first is the will is a morally good action if it is done in accordance from duty, as opposed to an action done in accordance with duty. The second proposition is that actions are judged by the maxim or principle that was the motivation behind the action. If someone undertakes an action with the only motivation being that of a sense of duty, they are following a valid a priori action. On the other hand if they decide to undertake an action in order to bring about a desired result, then their motivation is one that is beyond mere duty. Kants third proposition then explains that is not the respect for the power of the law but rather it is the moral motivation of an individual who acknowledges that the law is an imperative of reason that trumps our other interests. The will, as Kant describes, is of practical reason. A rational being is an individual who has the capacity to execute their behavior by the conceptions of laws. This discipline of action is also known as the will. Our judgment that advises us on our action is known as an imperative or a command to act on a certain motive. An imperative can be either hypothetical or categorical. In the hypothetical imperative one acknowledges an action as right or necessary if it is a manner in which to obtain or achieve a certain goal. As such you would act on an action if a previous circumstance has taken place. These types of actions come from our previous experiences and counsel us to a way in which our desires can be achieved. Thus, an action cannot be held universally valid at all times if its goal is to acquire some objective of desire under a certain set of conditions. If the goal is ultimately happiness, we are unable to set any universally hypothetical imperatives for happiness. This is because the definition of happiness differs from person to person. One mans happiness can very well be another mans misery. As Kant explains, a binding moral law then cannot be equivalent or parallel to a hypothetical imperative. Pure reason comes from the ability to consider neither a motivating condition accompanying another nor its intended results. With that, we then need to find a principle with universal validity or a principle that is valid no matter what issue is being considered. A priori principles of reason are the only principles that fit this standard on which a judgment or decision may be based. Hence, Immanuel Kant formulates that a moral imperative is one that is an unconditional or categorical imperative. A categorical imperative is our moral consciousness to do our duty because we ought to do our duty instead of pursuing our own desires attached to the duty. Such an imperative is driven by pure reason. Because we exclude our desires or maxims, we need only to focus on the form of our imperative. The form needs to be universally applicable or valid for all rational beings to follow. Thus, Kant gives us only one categorical imperative and it is Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law (Kant pg. 38). This universal law of morality states that we should act in such a way that we could will the maxim of our action to become universally applicable. This should be used as the criterion to determine whether or not a maxim is morally valid. Before we are able to apply a maxim to this categorical imperative, it is required that the maxim first, be fit to be a law of nature and second, is based on a notion that all actions have ends. The second pertains to the idea that men and women are ends in themselves. No maxim that does not impose or imply respect as a necessary accompaniment for men and women can be a moral law valid for everyone. Third, we must see every rational being as able to make universal laws. Last, the maxim requires the moral agent to act as a lawgiving member of all persons. From these points, two important ideas arise. The ideas deal with the autonomy of the will and dignity of the individual. Each person is essentially their own lawmaker, obeying the laws that they give themselves as a rational being. A person is not bound to a law by fear or hope of some reward, but freely bound to it by their lawgiving ability. This moral will is autonomous. Autonomy, which means self-law, is the only way Kant believes an individual to achieve the ultimate freedom. If an individual obeys laws from some other lawgiver, such as God and government, because of fear of punishment or hope of reward, he or she is not truly free. I feel the strongest objection to this thesis is Kant does not take enough consideration to human beings natural emotions. I believe his thesis weighs to heavily on mere reason alone without any emphasis on the emotional component of our morality. Kants perception that morality is a chore neglects the fact that by performing actions from duty individuals can obtain a somewhat subtle level of personal gratification from partaking in such acts that are not generally enjoyable to execute. I am not thoroughly convinced that if you are able to gain some happiness and reward from an action that is not generally alluring. The strengths of my personal view rely on the possibility of achieving a feeling of reward by completing an obligation. I feel there is an importance of doing something with a smile on your face. If you are unhappy to perform a moral action it will to reveal outwardly or make apparent that your heart is elsewhere, thus, tainting the action. However, if you perform these tasks seeking a somewhat level of enjoyment others will notice that you truly care about what it is you are doing and perceive the action to be a notable one. The weakness is obviously that you will be more probable to engage and look to engage in more actions that will give you this appeal and instant gratification. This is not an ideal situation because placing a slight neglect to a duty or obligation that you might not find appeal in defeats the purpose of completing all of the obligations set for us to go through with. Kants thesis has strength in the fact that the universal law seems closely related to the golden rule, which is do on to others as you would have others do on to you. With a statement as such it is awfully arduous to not perform a moral action. The weakness still lies in the fact Kant takes little to no consideration to humans natural emotions and feelings. Leading a moral life does not have to be a melancholy life, one in which you are bound to an endless amount of duties that you can seek no joy in. Whether or not Kant intended to make morality seem like torture, it appears it comes off in this manner. Kants overall view of morality appears near flawless. If there was a manner in which he could have incorporated a leeway for some emotions, I feel his thesis is in actuality how each individual should lead his or her life. .

Huckleberry Finn †Morality :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Huckleberry Finn – Morality    Society establishes their own rules of morality, but would they be accepted in these days?    For example, throughout the novel "Huckleberry Finn ", Mark Twain depicts society as a structure that has become little more than a collection of degraded rules and precepts that defy logic. This faulty logic manifests itself early, when the new judge in town allows Pap to keep custody of Huck. "The law backs that Judge Thatcher up and helps him to keep me out o' my property." The judge privileges Pap's "rights" to his son over Huck's welfare. Clearly, this decision comments on a system that puts a white man's rights to his "property"--his slaves--over the welfare and freedom of a black man.    Whereas a reader in the 1880s might have overlooked the moral absurdity of giving a man custody of another man, however, the mirroring of this situation in the granting of rights to the immoral Pap over the lovable Huck forces the reader to think more closely about the meaning of slavery. In implicitly comparing the plight of slaves to the plight of Huck at the hands of Pap, Twain demonstrates how impossible it is for a society that owns slaves to be just, no matter how "civilized" that society believes and proclaims itself to be.    In addition, childhood has been described by the author, as an important factor in the theme of moral education: only a child is open-minded enough to undergo the kind of development that Huck does." It was a close place. I took...up [the letter I'd written to Miss Watson], and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I know it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: "All right then, I'll go to hell"--Em dash intended here? and tore it up. It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming..."It, describes the moral climax of the novel. Jim has been sold by the Duke and Dauphin, and is being held by the Phelpses spending his return to his rightful owner.

Great Expectations so successful Essay

Pip almost breaks down in relief when Magwitch allows him to go, â€Å"I faltered†, he is relieved but still shaken. His childish imagination shows, when Magwitch is picking his way through the graves, â€Å"as if he were eluding the hands of the dead people†, he imagines very fearful images, that he will always relate to Magwitch and the events that have just taken place. Pip has more childish thoughts, and his imagination runs wild, and he imagines the convict â€Å"were the Pirate come to life†. His imagination makes the convict even more frightening to him. â€Å"It gave me a terrible turn when I thought so†, Pip is terrified by his own visions of the convict. Pip is very nai ve, â€Å"I looked all around for the horrible young man, and could see no signs of him†. Pip believes Magwitch’s story and his invented character, and is genuinely scared of the young man, which intimidates Pip even more, as this threat will stay with him long after Magwitch is out of sight. The setting almost always symbolizes a theme in Great Expectations, and throughout the book sets a tone matched to the dramatic actions. The misty marshes are used to symbolize danger and uncertainty. Throughout the chapter Dickens uses Pathetic Fallacy to give human traits to nature. At the beginning of the chapter the day is portrayed as â€Å"raw†, which gives the impression of it being a painful and isolated place. Dickens then gives you strong images of the churchyard, â€Å"bleak place overgrown with nettles†, this portrays the churchyard as uncared for, and that not many people venture there. Pip’s life outside of the churchyard, â€Å"dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard†, is lonely and isolated, the â€Å"wilderness† is like Pips life which is lonely, and which does not have many people in it, he is uncared for, just like the churchyard. The sense of bleak isolation is reinforced by the low leaden line† of the river and the description of the sea which follows. The place is dark, bleak, and heavy. The â€Å"sea† is there almost as a lair, and a den. â€Å"Savage lair†, this is like a brutal animal attacking. Magwitch will come from such a lair, were other things are hiding, and waiting to attack to Pip, not only now, but in the future as well. Pip is isolated in the graveyard, â€Å"a mile or more from the church†, Pip is along way from home and safety, there is nobody around to hear or help him. Even though there is the terror of Magwitch turning Pip over, a short way away is the church, which shows the contrast of holiness and serenity to the evilness of Magwitch. The marshes are depressing and dark, â€Å"cold wet flat†, the marshes are welcoming for no one but animals. The scratching and stinging plants, â€Å"brambles that bound the green mounds†, shows that it is pain and misery that hold this place together. â€Å"When the rains were heavy, or the tide was in†, the marshes can be dangerous and life threatening. The marshes that were â€Å"just a long black horizontal line† are bleak and dark, and full of uncertainty and danger. Dickens uses Pathetic Fallacy to describe the sky, â€Å"just a row of long angry red lines†; he gives the sky the image of being angry and dangerous. â€Å"Red lines and dense black lines intermixed†, this a mix of red which represents danger, and black which represents death. Only two things on the marshes are tall and noticeable, â€Å"the only two black things in all the prospect that seemed to be standing upright†, everything else is flat and eerie like death. â€Å"The beacon by which the sailors steered†, this is a signal to help prevent danger, which shows there could be some safety mixed up in all of the danger. Dickens shows signs of barbarity of the contempory penal system everywhere. A gallows looms over Pip, â€Å"a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it†; this is a clear symbol of death and evilness. Everywhere Pip looks there are signs of death. In the whole of the novel as well as in this chapter, whenever Pip goes into the mists of the marshes, something dangerous is likely to happen. In the essay I have found that the convict is mainly portrayed by Dickens, as a frightening though believable character, who inflicts terror, anguish, pain, and distress. Despite these points though, at the end of the chapter, when Magwitch is ‘limping’ away, the reader feels some compassion for him. Magwitch is a very guarded person, and intrigues the reader, and makes them guess a lot of things about Magwitch’s character. Pip is a small defenseless little boy, who is exposed and vulnerable to the dangers of the world. The reader automatically feels concern, and sympathy for him. As soon as the action starts between Pip and Magwitch, Magwitch is portrayed as the bad person, and Pip as the good, the reader automatically sides with Pip, and you follow his feelings and emotions right through the chapter. The setting helps create the dismal, eerie, and bleak atmosphere. The overgrown churchyard helps to create the perfect setting for what is going on in the chapter, as it represents Pip’s feelings and emotions. Pathetic fallacy is found quite a lot in the chapter; it is used to give human traits to nature, e. g. ‘savage lair’. Pip’s life and world is the microcosm of the chapter, and contains in miniature all the features of the larger structure (macrocosm). Dickens chose the themes of the convict and crime, as these represent dishonesty, law breaking, and wrongdoing. He chose these images of the unacceptable and violent behavior, as the readers of the time would have had very strong vies on these. He also uses symbols such as the gallows, which people also associate with badness and law breaking. The theme of darkness and violence draws in the reader, and they become involved in everything that is going on in the chapter. Throughout the chapter Dickens uses different techniques such as the setting corresponding with feelings and emotions, and the great aspect of violence, to draw in the reader, and make them become more involved with the characters, and almost feel what they feel. Dickens skillfully leaves the chapter as a cliffhanger, making me (the reader) want to read more. Zara Smalley Page 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.

Parallel Web Pages in English and Regional Languages

Language identification of written text in the domain of Latin script based languages is a well-studied research area. However, new challenges arise when it is applied to non-Latin-script based languages, particularly for Asian languages web pages. Web page classification creates new research challenges because of the noisy nature of the pages. It’s no doubt that English has been the predominant language for the World Wide Web since its inception and so it’s usage is confined to a specific community of people have a good grasp of the English language. The serviceability factors of the Internet have proven to be beneficial to a highly educated society, because of the linguistic barrier. The solution to this problem is to provide web pages in regional languages. Our aim is to provide web pages in pairs, of Devanagari and English web pages if it exists. 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