Deontology

My initial impression of deontology was that this theory seems to make a great deal of sense and I was all in favor of Kant’s ideas and opinions. After some careful thought I still prefer deontology to other moral theories, however, some of Kant’s ideas do not seem as complete as I initially had thought.
I like Kant’s ideas in the categorical imperative (if I am interpreting them correctly) because it seems as if the two “formulations” really help to weed out many of the lingering questions behind moral dilemmas. I think Kant’s first formulation of the categorical imperative is saying that by committing an act, we would (should) also approve that act be committed by someone else at any other time. If I understand this correctly, this helps solidify the universality of an act by saying it is right (for the time being) and it will always be right (at any other given time.) An example of this could be something as simple as speeding on the freeway. If I am going to say that it is acceptable for me to disobey the laws and speed on the freeway, I would have to accept the fact that anyone else could break the same laws at any time. If I cannot “will” that act to be acceptable when committed by others, then I should not commit the act myself. The second formulation is concerned with humanity. Kant is basically saying do not “use” people, all humans are created equally (we are all rational beings) and are therefore entitled to the same rights of humanity. Because of this, we all have a duty not to impede on the autonomous nature of other humans. I think slavery and child labor are perhaps the two most obvious examples of infringing on human rights. It seems as if, when writing the categorical imperative, Kant was looking for a set of rules that would almost act as a “catch-all” for evaluating moral acts. I say this because it is hard to imagine any act (that could be considered immoral) that does not get cancelled out by one of these two formulations.
I feel that Kant’s categorical imperative is a strong foundation for analyzing moral issues however, like many other theories it does not seem complete. My first question is in regards to the dismissal of consequences. Unlike utilitarianism, Kant makes it clear that the consequences or outcomes of an act are irrelevant; instead Kant focuses on the will or intent of the act. The reason this concerns me is because it is possible for an act to be committed with the greatest of intentions and still yield disastrous outcomes. I realize that Kant is saying if we have the best intentions and by this theory- “do the right thing“ then we should have nothing to worry about however, there could very much be things at risk (including lives of others etc.) that we may or may not know about. When considering intentions, the opposite is true as well; it is possible for acts premised by bad intentions to turn into a “good” act. If someone was committing a bad deed, then Kant would say it is still bad because of the bad will, however, I don’t think rewarding bad deeds is a good recipe for promoting morality. It seems at this point Kant is gambling with the outcomes and because of that, I feel there should be more consideration for the consequences of the acts we commit. Another direct conflict with Utilitarian theory is that Kant (at least according to my reading of our text) does not state that animal rights should be considered. I am certainly no animal rights activist and I love the taste of meat, but one thing I like about Utilitarian theory is that it at least considers the rights of other beings in addition to humans. While I do not necessarily have issues with using animals as sources of food, I certainly would not approve of punching a kitten. The other area I feel is weak is in regards to conflicting duties. It does not appear that the categorical imperative provides us any guidance in regards to duties that interfere with each other. As Boss states, a great example is that of the euthanasia debate. How can a physician reach a sound moral decision (based on this theory) derived from pure rationale when the duties of preserving life and preventing pain and suffering are obviously conflicting? Because of conflicts like this, I prefer Ross’s addition of the seven prima facie duties (although to my understanding even the prima facie duties do not provide much guidance in regards to the euthanasia debate.) I feel that although Kant’s views may be lacking, not necessarily wrong. Where I feel his theories are weak, other theories such as Utilitarian theory are strong. I think a mix of deontological theory including Kant’s categorical imperative and Ross’ prima facie duties, merged with certain aspects of Utilitarianism would yield a stronger and more universal moral theory.

Utilitarianism

My initial response to Utilitarian theory was that it seemed to make very logical sense in that it considers overall happiness for the individual as well as the happiness of others. After I was able to dig deeper into the theory, I found that it did present a few problematic issues that were not easily identifiable on the surface.
What I like about Utilitarianism (UT) first and foremost, is that there is no mention of God, and therefore “we” are not attempting to live life in accordance with a set of rules in which we do not empirically know the true foundation. This theory completely takes God out of the equation and much to my liking, puts the moral responsibility back in the hands of the people who will actually be held accountable for the decisions that are made. The mere fact that this theory stems from social injustices and aims for overall happiness or “utility” in my opinion, makes it more receptive to skeptics considering moral theories. In other words, this theory was not put into place to please God or even to provide guidelines to humans like many other theories; it seems as if it was created in attempt to correct social injustices and consider everyone equally. What I appreciate most about Bentham’s contribution is the inclusion of Utilitarian calculus. These guidelines make Bentham’s theory practical (in the sense that there is a structure and formula) more useful in that there are actual steps, not just misinterpreted doctrine available to follow aimlessly. However, it is also in UT calculus that I find some of the weaker aspects of this theory.
Even though UT is definitely a step in the right direction, I feel the UT calculus (and some of Bentham’s principles behind it) skips some key components. For starters, it seems as if Bentham’s motives were to provide a tool to help us justify all of the decisions we make on a daily basis. What then if I am deciding between two things that are not really comparable? For example, what if I was forced to choose between humanitarian work and freeway graffiti? I think it’s difficult to compare these two subjects on any level and while they could both provide pleasure to someone, I find it hard to accept the fact that the pleasure is of the same caliber. The other thing I can’t quite seem to wrap my head around is how I would use this to choose between two acts that I have little to no knowledge of. For example, let’s say I had two possible choices in making a decision-becoming a school teacher, and becoming a doctor (to simplify my analogy). To use this theory as it was intended, I would have to measure things like intensity, duration, and extent. Well, if I have no knowledge of being a doctor or a school teacher, how can I reasonably quantify the potential results of either of these actions? My initial response would be to ask someone else but that defeats the purpose of this theory. Now if I were choosing between eating an apple and eating an orange, then I feel I could use the UT calculus to make a decision as I have prior experience and knowledge of both of those events. Lastly, although I like having the UT calculus as a tool, it does not seem practical for everyday decision making. I can however, see a similar tool being useful in the hands of governments being forced to make large-scale decisions.

Introduction to Moral Theories

I didn’t make it past the first page before Stanley Milgram’s excerpt (Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs…) provoked a seemingly endless and consuming thought process. If I interpreted Milgram’s thoughts correctly, he is inferring that all people, regardless of background and/or status have the potential to carry out immoral behavior. Based on his conclusion I immediately thought of all the young soldiers and the myriad of potentially problematic issues that may arise when ordinary people are asked to do extraordinary things.
Although not true in every case, a somewhat typical story of a soldier may entail: leaving for military duty at an extremely young age, being separated from family (sometimes for the first time ever,) undergoing a “culture shock” or paradigm shift, being put into an extraordinary situation with little to no moral or ethical foundation, being left to suffer the damaging consequences of his or her actions. I can surmise that members of the armed forces are taught to “act without thinking” and follow orders without questioning. For the objective of completing a mission without risking the lives of others, I can see the validity in this method of training. My quandary resides with my concern over the lack of foundation these ill-equipped young men and women possess. If we were to assume that a large portion of soldiers come from an age demographic of seventeen to twenty-five years of age, it is fair that we ask ourselves about the kind of moral/ethical foundation they can possibly have. Of course some are more ethically “mature” than others, but I do not believe that accounts for the majority.

Taking into consideration the fact that many service members may not bear a desirable amount of moral fiber, I have to question the validity of the exceptional amount of pressure these young men and women are forced to deal with. If I were to take a seventeen or eighteen-year old boy from a small southern town (who may have lived a relatively sheltered life) and put that boy in a situation where he follows orders blindly (without question) and was forced to experience something as formidable as say, taking the life of another human being; it would be highly presumptuous of me to assume that it would not have a high emotional effect on that child. Where is the morality behind that scenario? It’s difficult for me to believe that issues such as PTSD, depression, and suicide among military members, actually surprise anyone. What frustrates me further is the fact that so many people (including non-military personnel) are oblivious to many of the real reasons as to why we engage in certain acts of war. It saddens me to think that we may be putting American children at risk for potential long-term psychological issues while taking full advantage of the fact that they lack the resources to challenge or question the bigger picture.
Being exposed to a number of experiences in my life, both personal and professional, I have seen the tremendous importance of a solid foundation. In order to achieve a high level of moral or ethical capacity, one must first obtain a sound foundation. Strong foundations (across many applications) begin with parenting and child rearing. The longer children are denied the opportunity to grow both morally and mentally, the harder it is to attain a high level of moral and/or ethical achievement.