An Exposition of Kant’s, Arendt’s, and Mill’s Moral...

An Exposition of Kant’s, Arendt’s, and Mill’s Moral Philosophy Immanuel Kant adheres to Deontological ethics. His theory offers a view of morality based on the principle of good will and duty. According to him, people can perform good actions solely by good intentions without any considerations to consequences. In addition, one must follow the laws and the categorical imperative in order to act in accordance with and from duty. Several other philosophers such as Hannah Arendt discuss Kant’s moral philosophy. In her case study: â€Å"The Accused and Duties of a Law-Abiding Citizen†, Arendt examines how Adolf Eichmann’s actions conformed to Kant’s moral precepts but also how they ran of afoul to his conception of duty. In contrast, John Stuart†¦show more content†¦Kant’s supreme principle of morality is also based on reason. According to him, acting on principle signifies that we should do something simply because it is the right thing to do. In addition, he argues that the morality of an act depends on a person’s intentions. A moral act is one done for the right reasons, even if it has bad consequences or it is not in the agent’s best interest. In other words, the highest function of reason is to establish good will, not happiness (Kant, P.96). In his view of morality, self-interest and duty come into conflict since performing one’s duty does not necessarily make someone or others happy. In fact, being ethical often hurts. Overall, happiness plays almost no role in Kant’s morality. In his opinion, a good will is not good because it tries to promote some good end. Firstly, a good will is always good, good unconditionally, and never in any way bad. Secondly, all other goods, for instance, gifts of nature or fortune, are good only conditionally and are worthless or even bad when the relevant conditions are not satisfied. Lastly, the goodness of any conditioned good depends on it being combined with a good will. This concept of a will estimable in itself an d good without regard to any further end is captured in Kant’s first proposition: Only an act done from duty has moral worth (Kant, P.98). Having a good will is the condition to be satisfied for any other good