公正6英文

鍏6鑻辨枃T:Nowweturntothehardestphilosopherwe'regoingtoreadinthiscourse.TodayweturntoImmanuelKantwhooffersadifferentaccountofwhywehaveacategoricaldutytorespectthedignityofpersonsandnottousepeopleasmeansmerelyevenforgoodends.KantexcelledattheUniversityofKonigsbergattheageof16.Atageof31,hegothisfirstjobasanunsalariedlecturerpaidoncommissionbasedonthenumberofstudentswhoshowedupathislectures.ThisisasensiblesystemthatHarvardwoulddowelltoconsider.LuckilyforKant,hewasapopularlecturerandalsoanindustriousoneandsoheekedoutameagerliving.Itwasn'tuntilhewas57thathepublishedhisfirstmajorwork.But,itwasworththewait,thebookwasthe"CritiqueofPureReason"perhapsthemostimportantworkinallofmodernphilosophy.Andafewyearslater,Kantwrotethegroundworkfor"MetaphysicsofMorals"whichwereadinthiscourse.IwanttoacknowledgeevenbeforewestartthatKantisadifficultthinkerbutit'simportanttotrytofigurewhathe'ssayingbecausewhatthisbookisaboutiswhatthesupremeprincipleofmoralityisnumberoneanditalsogivesusanaccount...oneofthemostpowerfulaccountswehave...ofwhatfreedomreallyis.So,letmestarttoday,Kantrejectsutilitarianism.Hethinksthattheindividualpersonallhumanbeingshaveacertaindignitythatcommandsourrespect.Thereasontheindividualissacredorthebearerofrights,accordingtoKant,doesn'tstemfromtheideathatweownourselvesbutinsteadfromtheideathatweareallrationalbeings.We'reallrationalbeingswhichsimplymeanthatwearebeingswhoarecapableofreason.Wearealsoautonomousbeings,whichistosaythatwearebeingscapableofactingandchoosingfreely.Now,thiscapacityforreasonandfreedomisn'ttheonlycapacitywehave.Wealsohavethecapacityforpainandpleasureforsufferingandsatisfaction.Kantadmitstheutilitarianswerehalfright.Ofcourse,weseektoavoidpainandwelikepleasure,Kantdoesn'tdenythis.WhathedoesdenyisBentham'sclaimthatpainandpleasureareoursovereignmasters.Hethinksthat'swrong.Kantthinksthatit'sourrationalcapacitythatmakesusdistinctivethatmakesusdistinctivethatsetsusapartfromandabovemereanimalexistence.Itmakesussomethingmorethanjustphysicalcreatureswithappetites.Weoftenthinkoffreedomassimplyconsistingindoingwhatwewantorintheabsenceofobstaclestogettingwhatwewantthat'sonewayofthinkingaboutfreedom.Butthisisn'tKant'sideaoffreedom.Kanthasamorestringentdemandingnotionofwhatitmeanstobefree.Andthoughit'sstringentanddemanding,ifyouthinkitthrough,it'sactuallyprettypersuasive.Kantreasonsasfollows:whenwe,likeanimals,seekafterpleasureorthesatisfactionofourdesiresortheavoidanceofpain,whenwedothatwearen'treallyactingfreely.Whynot?We'rereallyactingastheslavesofthoseappetitesandimpulses.Ididn'tchoosethisparticularhungerorthatparticularappetiteandsowhenIacttosatisfyit,I'mjustactingaccordingtonaturalnecessity.AndforKant,freedomistheoppositeofnecessity.TherewasanadvertisingsloganforthesoftdrinkSpriteafewyearsago.Thesloganwas,"Obeyyourthirst."There'saKantianinsightburiedinthatSpriteadvertisingsloganthatinawayisKant'spoint.WhenyougoforSpriteorPepsi,you'rereally...youmightthinkthatyou'rechoosingfreely,SpriteversusPepsi,butyou'reactuallyobeyingsomething,athirstormaybeadesiremanufacturedormassagedbyadvertising,you'reobeyingapromptingthatyouyourselfhaven'tchosenorcreated.AndhereitisworthnoticingKant'sspeciallydemandingideaoffreedom.Whatwayofacting...howcanmywillbedeterminedifnotbythepromptingsofnatureormyhungerormyappetiteormydesires?Kant'sanswer?Toactfreelyistoactautonomously,andtoactautonomouslyistoactaccordingtoalawthatIgivemyselfnotaccordingtothephysicallawsofnatureorthelawsofcauseandeffectwhichincludemydesiretoeatortodrinkortochoosethisfoodinarestaurantoverthat.Now,whatistheoppositeofautonomyforKant?Heinventsaspecialtermtodescribetheoppositeofautonomy.Heteronomyistheoppositeofautonomy.WhenIactheteronomously,I'mactingaccordingtoaninclination,oradesire,thatIhaven'tchosenformyself.So,freedomasautonomyisanespeciallystringentideathatKantinsistson.Now,whyisautonomytheoppositeofactingheteronomouslyoraccordingtothedictatesofnature?Kant'spointisthatnatureisgovernedbylaws,lawsofcauseandeffectforexample.Supposeyoudropabilliardball,itfallstotheground;wewouldn'tsaythebilliardballisactingfreely.Whynot?It'sactingaccordingtothelawofnature,accordingtothelawsofcauseofeffect,thelawofgravity.Andjustashehasanunusuallydemandingandstringentconceptionoffreedom,freedomasautonomy,healsohasademandingconceptionofmorality.Toactfreelyisnottochoosethebestmeanstoagivenend,it'stochoosetheenditselfforitsownsake.Andthat'ssomethingthathumanbeingscandoandthatbilliardballscan't.Insofarasweactoninclinationorpursuepleasure,weactasmeanstotherealizationofendsgivenoutsideus.Weareinstrumentsratherthanauthorsofthepurposeswepursuethat'stheheteronymousdeterminationofthewill.Ontheotherhand,insofarasweactautonomously,accordingtoalawwegiveourselves,wedosomethingforitsownsakeasanendinitself.Whenweactautonomously,weseizetobeinstrumentstopurposesgivenoutsideus,webecome,orwecancometothinkofourselvesasendsinourselves.Thiscapacitytoactfreely,Kanttellsusiswhatgiveshumanlifeitsspecialdignity.Respectinghumandignitymeansregardingpersonsnotjustasmeansbutalsoasendsinthemselves.Andthisiswhyit'swrongtousepeopleforthesakeofotherpeoples'well-beingorhappiness.Thisistherealreason,Kantsays,thatutilitarianismgoeswrong.Thisisthereasonit'simportanttorespectthedignityofpersonsandtoupholdtheirrights.So,eveniftherearecasesrememberJohnStewartMillsaid,"Well,inthelongrun,ifweupholdjusticeandrespectthedignityofpersons,wewillmaximizehumanhappiness."WhatwouldKant'sanswerbetothat?Whatwouldhisanswerbe?Evenifthatweretrue,evenifthecalculusworkedoutthatway,evenifyoushouldn'tthrowtheChristian'stothelionsbecauseinthelongrunfearwillspread,theoverallutilitywilldecline.Theutilitarianwouldbeupholdingjusticeandrightandrespectforpersonsforthewrongreasonforapurelyacontingentreason,foraninstrumentalreason.Itwouldstillbeusingpeople,evenwherethecalculusworksoutforthebestinthelongrun,itwouldstillbeusingpeopleasmeansratherthanrespectingthemasendsinthemselves.So,that'sKant'sideaoffreedomasautonomyandyoucanbegintoseehowit'sconnectedtohisideaofmorality.Butwestillhavetoansweronemorequestion,whatgivesanactitsmoralworthinthefirstplace?Ifitcan'tbedirectedthatutilityorsatisfyingwantsanddesires,whatgivesanactionitsmoralworth?ThisleadsusfromKant'sdemandingideaoffreedomtohisdemandingideaofmorality.WhatdoesKantsay?Whatmakesanactionmorallyworthyconsistsnotintheconsequencesorintheresultsthatflowfromit,whatmakesanactionmorallyworthyhastodowiththemotive,withthequalityofthewill,withtheintentionforwhichtheactisdone.Whatmattersisthemotiveandthemotivemustbeofacertainkind.So,themoralworthofanactiondependsonthemotiveforwhichit'sdoneandtheimportantthingisthatthepeopledotherightthingfortherightreason."Agoodwillisn'tgoodbecauseofwhatitaffectsoraccomplishes,"Kantwrites,"it'sgoodinitself."Evenifbyitsutmosteffort,thegoodwillaccomplishesnothing,itwouldstillshinelikeajewelforitsownsakeassomethingwhichhasitsfullvalueinitself."Andso,foranyactiontobemorallygood,it'snotenoughthatitshouldconformtothemorallaw,itmustalsobedoneforthesakeofthemorallaw.Theideaisthatthemotiveconfersthemoralworthonanactionandtheonlykindofmotivethatcanconfermoralworthonanactionisthemotiveofduty.Well,what'stheoppositeofdoingsomethingoutofasenseofdutybecauseit'sright?WellforKant,theoppositewouldbeallofthosemotiveshavingtodowithourinclinations.Andinclinationsrefertoallofourdesires,allofourcontingentlygivenwants,preferences,impulses,andthelike.Onlyactionsdoneforthesakeofthemorallawforthesakeofduty,onlytheseactionshavemoralworth.Now,Iwanttoseewhatyouthinkaboutthisideabutfirstlet'sconsiderafewexamples.Kantbeginswithanexampleofashopkeeper.Hewantstobringouttheintuitionandmakeplausibletheideathatwhatconfersmoralworthonanactionisthatitbedonebecauseit'sright.Hesayssupposethere'sashopkeeperandaninexperiencedcustomercomesin.Theshopkeeperknowsthathecouldgivethecustomerthewrongchange,couldshortchangethecustomerandgetawaywithit;atleastthatcustomerwouldn'tknow.Buttheshopkeepernonethelesssays,"Well,ifIshortchangethiscustomer,wordmaygetout,myreputationwouldbedamaged,andIwouldlosebusiness,soIwon'tshortchangethiscustomer."Theshopkeeperdoesnothingwrong,hegivesthecorrectchange,butdoeshisactionhavemoralworth?Kantsaysno,itdoesn'thavemoralworthbecausetheshopkeeperonlydidtherightthingforthewrongreasonoutofself-interest.That'saprettystraightforwardcase.Thenhetakesanothercase,thecaseofsuicide.Hesayswehaveadutytopreserveourselves.Now,formostpeoplewholovelife,wehavemultiplereasonsfornottakingourownlives.So,theonlywaywecanreallytell,theonlywaywecanisolatetheoperativemotiveforsomeonewhodoesn'ttakehisorherlifeistothink...toimaginesomeonewho'smiserableandwhodespitehavinganabsolutelymiserablelifenonethelessrecognizesthedutytopreserveone'sselfandsodoesnotcommitsuicide.Theforceoftheexampleistobringoutthemotivethatmattersandthemotivethatmattersformoralityisdoingtherightthingforthesakeofduty.Letmejustgiveyouacoupleofotherexamples.TheBetterBusinessBureau,what'stheirslogan?ThesloganoftheBetterBusinessBureau:"Honestyisthebestpolicy.It'salsothemostprofitable."ThisistheBetterBusinessBureau'sfullpageadintheNewYorkTimes,"Honesty,it'sasimportantasanyotherassetbecauseabusinessthatdealsintruth,openness,andfairvaluecannothelpbutdowell.Comejoinusandprofitfromit."WhatwouldKantsayaboutthemoralworthofthehonestdealingsofmembersoftheBetterBusinessBureau?Whatwouldhesay?Thathere'saperfectexamplethatifthisisthereasonthatthesecompaniesdealhonestlywiththeircustomers,theiractionlacksmoralworth,thisisKant'spoint.Acoupleofyearsago,attheUniversityofMaryland,therewasaproblemwithcheatingandsotheyinitiatedanhonorsystemandtheycreatedaprogramwithlocalmerchantsthatifyousignedthehonorpledge,apledgenottocheat,youwouldgetdiscountsof10%to25%atlocalshops.Wellwhatwouldyouthinkofsomeonemotivatedtoupholdanhonorcodewiththehopeofdiscounts?It'sthesameasKant'sshopkeeper.Thepointis,whatmattersisthequalityofthewill,thecharacterofthemotiveandtherelativemotivetomoralitycanonlybethemotiveofduty,notthemotiveofinclination.AndwhenIactoutofduty,whenIresistasmymotiveforactinginclinationsorself-interest,evensympathyandaltruism,onlythenamIactingfreely,onlythenamIactingautonomously,onlythenismywillnotdeterminedorgovernedbyexternalconsiderations,that'sthelinkbetweenKant'sideaoffreedomandofmorality.Now,Iwanttopauseheretoseeifallofthisisclearorifyouhavesomequestionsorpuzzles.Theycanbequestionsofclarificationortheycanbechallenges.Ifyouwanttochallengethisideathatonlythemotiveofdutyconfersmoralworthontheaction.Whatdoyouthink?Yes.S:Yeah,Iactuallyhavetwoquestionsofclarification.Thefirstis,thereseemstobeanaspectofthisthatmakesitsortofself-defeatinginthatonceyou'reconsciousofwhatmoralityisyoucansortofalteryourmotivetoachievethatendofmorality.T:Givemeanexampleofwhatyouhaveinmind.S:Theshopkeeperexample.Ifhedecidesthathewantstogivethepersonthemoneytodotherightthingandhedecidesthatit'shismotivetodosobecausehewantstobemoralthenisn'tthatsortofdefeatingtryingtoisn'tthatsortofdefeatingthepurityofhisactionifmoralityisdeterminedbyhismotive?Hismotiveisthentoactmorally.T:Isee.So,you'reimaginingacasenotofthepurelyselfishcalculatingshopkeeperbutofonewhosays,well,hemayconsidershortchangingthecustomer.Butthenhesays,"Not,ormyreputationmightsufferifwordgetsout."Butinsteadhesays,"Actually,Iwouldliketobethekindofhonestpersonwhogivestherightchangetocustomerssimplybecauseit'stherightthingtodo."Orsimply,"BecauseIwanttobemoral.""BecauseIwanttobemoral,Iwanttobeagoodperson,andsoI'mgoingtoconformallofmyactionstowhatmoralityrequires."It'sasubtlepoint,it'sagoodquestion.Kantdoesacknowledge,you'repressingKantonanimportantpointhere,Kantdoessaytherehastobesomeincentivetoobeythemorallaw,itcan'tbeaself-interestedincentivethatwoulddefeatitbydefinition.So,hespeaksofadifferentkindofincentivefromthatinclination,hespeaksoreverenceforthemorallaw.So,ifthatshopkeepersays,"IwanttodevelopareverenceforthemorallawandsoI'mgoingtodotherightthing"thenIthinkhe'sthere,he'sthereasfarasKant'sconcernedbecausehe'sformedhismotive,hiswillisconformingtothemorallawonceheseestheimportanceofit.So,itwouldcount,itwouldcount.Allright,then,secondly,veryquickly,whatstopsmoralityfrombecomingcompletelyobjectiveinthispoint?Whatstopsmoralityfrombecomingsubjective?S:Yeah,likehowcan...ifmoralityiscompletelydeterminedbyyourmoralsthenhowcanyouapplythisorhowcanitbeenforced?T:Allright,that'salsoagreatquestion.-What'syourname?S:MynameisAmady.T:Allright,ifactingmorallymeansactingaccordingtoamorallawoutofdutyandifit'salsotoactfreelyinthesenseofautonomously,itmustmeanthatI'mactingaccordingtoalawthatIgivemyself,that'swhatitmeanstoactautonomously,Amadyisrightaboutthat,butthatdoesraiseareallyinterestingquestion.IfactingautonomouslymeansactingaccordingtoalawIgivemyself,that'showIescapethechainofcauseandeffectandthelawsofnature.What'stheguaranteethatthelawIgivemyselfwhenI'mactingoutofdutyisthesameasthelawthatAmadyisgivinghimselfandthateachofyougivesyourselves?Well,here'sthequestion,howmanymorallawsroomKant'spointofviewarethereinthisroom?Arethereathousandoristhereone?Hethinksthere'sone,whichinawaydoesgobacktothisquestion:allright,whatisthemorallaw?Whatdoesittellus?So,whatguarantees...itsoundsliketoactautonomouslyistoactaccordingtoone'sconscience,accordingtoalawonegivesoneselfbutwhatguaranteesthatifweallexerciseourreason,wewillcomeupwithoneandthesamemorallaw?That'swhatAmadywantstoknow.Here'sKant'sanswer:thereasonthatleadsustothelawwegiveourselvesasautonomousbeingsisareason,it'sakindofpracticalreasonthatweshareashumanbeings.It'snotidiosyncratic.Thereasonweneedtorespectthedignityofpersonsisthatwe'reallrationalbeingsweallhavethecapacityforreasonandit'stheexerciseofthatcapacityforreasonwhichexistsundifferentiatedinallofusthatmakesusworthyofdignity,allofus,andsinceit'sthesamecapacityforreason,unqualifiedbyparticularautobiographiesandlifecircumstance,it'sthesameuniversalcapacityforreasonthatdeliversthemorallaw.Itturnsoutthattoactautonomouslyistoactaccordingtoalawwegiveourselvesexercisingourreason,butit'sthereasonwesharewitheveryoneasrationalbeings,nottheparticularreasonswehavegivenourupbringings,ourparticularvalues,ourparticularinterests.It'spurepracticalreason,inKant'sterms,whichlegislatesaprioriregardlessofanyparticularcontingentorempiricalends.Well,whatmorallawwouldthatkindofreasondeliver?Whatisitscontent?Toanswerthatquestion,youhavetoreadthegroundworkandwe'llcontinuewiththatquestionnexttime.ForKant,morallyspeaking,suicideisonaparwithmurder.It'sonaparwithmurderbecausewhatweviolatewhenwetakealife,whenwetakesomeone'slife,oursorsomebodyelse's,weusethatperson,weusearationalbeingbeusehumanityasameansandsowefailtorespecthumanityasanend.T:TodayweturnbacktoKant.Beforewedo,rememberthisistheweekbytheendofwhichallofyouwillbasicallygetKant,figureoutwhathe'supto.You'relaughing.No,itwillhappen.Kant'sgroundworkisabouttwobigquestions.First,whatisthesupremeprincipleofmorality?Second,howisfreedompossible?Twobigquestions.Now,onewayofmakingyourwaythroughthisdensephilosophicalbookistobearinmindasetofoppositionsorcontrastsordualismsthatarerelated.TodayI'dliketotalkaboutthem.Todaywe'regoingtoanswerthequestion,what,accordingtoKant,isthesupremeprincipleofmorality?Andinansweringthatquestion,inworkingourwayuptoKant'sanswertothatquestionitwillhelptobearinmindthreecontrasts,ordualisms,thatKantsetsout.Thefirst,you'llremember,hadtodowiththemotiveaccordingtowhichweact.AndaccordingtoKant,onlyonekindofmotiveisconsistentwithmorality,themotiveofduty,doingtherightthingfortherightreason.Whatotherkindofmotivesarethere?Kantsumsthemupinthecategoryofinclination.Everytimethemotiveforwhatwedoistosatisfyadesireorapreferencethatwemayhave,topursuesomeinterest,we'reactingoutofinclination.Now,letmepausetoseeifinthinkingaboutthequestionofthemotiveofduty,thegoodwill,seeifanyofyouhasaquestionaboutthatmuchofKant'sclaim.Oriseverybodyhappywiththisdistinction?Whatdoyouthink?Goahead.S:Whenyoumakethatdistinctionbetweendutyandinclinationisthereeveranymoralactionever?Imeanyoucouldalways,kindof,probablyfindsomeselfishmotive,can'tyou?T:Maybe,veryoftenpeopledohaveself-interestedmotiveswhentheyact.Kantwouldn'tdisputethat.ButwhatKantissayingisthatinsofarasweactmorally,thatisinsofarasouractionshavemoralworth,whatconfersmoralworthispreciselyourcapacitytoriseaboveself-interestandprudenceandinclinationandtoactoutofduty.SomeyearsagoIreadaboutaspellingbeeandtherewasayoungmanwhowasdeclaredthewinnerofthespellingbee,akidnamedAndrew,13yearsold.Thewinningword,thewordthathewasabletospell,was"echolalia."Doesanyoneknowwhatecholaliais?What?Itmeansthetendencytorepeatasinecho,torepeatwhatyou'veheard.Anyhow,hemisspelleditactuallybutthejudgesmisheardhim,theythoughthehadspelleditcorrectlyandawardedhimthechampionshipoftheNationalSpellingBeeandhewenttothejudgesafterwardandsaid,"Actually,Imisspelledit,Idon'tdeservetheprize."AndhewasregardedasamoralheroandhewaswrittenupintheNewYorkTimes,"MisspellerisSpellingBeeHero."There'sAndrewwithhisproudmotherandwhenhewasinterviewedafterwards,listentothis,whenhewasinterviewedafterwards,hesaid,"ThejudgessaidIhadalotofintegrity,"butthenheaddedthatpartofhismotivewas,"Ididn'twanttofeellikeaslime."Allright.WhatwouldKantsay?Goahead.S:Iguessitwoulddependonwhetherornotthatwasamarginalreasonorthepredominantreasonandwhetherornot...andwhyhedecidedtoconfessthathedidn'tactuallyspellthewordcorrectly.Good.Andwhat'syourname?S:Bosco.T:That'sveryinteresting.Isthereanyoneelsewhohasaviewaboutthis?DoesthisshowthatKant'sprincipleistoostringent,toodemanding?WhatwouldKantsayaboutthis?Yes.S:IthinkthatKantactuallysaysthatitisthepuremotivationthatcomesoutofdutywhichgivestheactionmoralworth.So,it'slike,forexampleinthiscase,hemighthavemorethanonemotive,hemighthavethemotiveofnotfeelinglikeaslimeandhemighthavethemotiveofdoingtherightthingitselfoutofdutyandso,whilethere'smorethanonemotivationgoingontheredoesn'tmeanthattheactionisdevoidofmoralworth.Justbecausehehasoneothermotivebecausethemotivewhichinvolvesdutyiswhatgivesitthemoralworth.T:Good.Andwhat'syourname?S:Judith.T:WellJudith,IthinkthatyouraccountactuallyistruetoKant.It'sfinetohavesentimentsandfeelingsthatsupportdoingtherightthingprovidedtheydon'tprovidethereasonforacting.So,IthinkJudithactuallyhasmountedaprettygooddefenseofKantonthisquestionofthemotiveofduty.Now,let'sgobacktothethreecontrasts.It'sclearatleastwhatKantmeanswhenhesaysthatforanactiontohavemoralworth,itmustbedoneforthesakeofduty,notoutofinclination.Butaswebegantoseelasttime,there'saconnectionbetweenKant'sstringentnotionofmoralityandhisspeciallydemandingunderstandingoffreedom.Andthatleadsustothesecondcontrast,thelinkbetweenmoralityandfreedom.Thesecondcontrastdescribestwodifferentwaysthatmywillcanbedeterminedautonomouslyandheteronomously.AccordingtoKant,I'monlyfreewhenmywillisdeterminedautonomously.Whichmeanswhat?AccordingtoalawthatIgivemyself.Wemustbecapable,ifwe'recapableoffreedomasautonomy,wemustbecapableofactingaccordingnottoalawthat'sgivenorimposedonusbutaccordingtoalawwegiveourselves.Butwherecouldsuchalawcomefrom?Alawthatwegiveourselves.Reason.Ifreasondeterminesmywillthenthewillbecomesapowertochooseindependentofthedictatesofnatureorinclinationorcircumstance.So,connectedwithKant'sdemandingnotionsofmoralityandfreedomisaspeciallydemandingnotionofreason.Well,howcanreasondeterminethewill?Therearetwowaysandthisleadstothethirdcontrast.KantsaystherearetwodifferentcommandsofreasonandacommandofreasonKantcallsanimperativeanimperativeissimplyanought.Onekindofimpe