Contrasting the Ethical Theories of Immanuel Kant and John...

The purpose of this essay is to contrast the ethical theories of Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill, I will look at some possible criticisms that both Kant and Mill could take on each other’s theory and how each one would respond to the criticisms. In the end I will make a personal assessment of the theories in line with the criticisms and responses from both Kant and Mill. The foundation of Kant’s ethical theory is what he calls the categorical imperative and this is one of the important aspects of the principle of deontology. There are two fundamentally critical components to Kant’s categorical imperative. The first one is Perfect Duty of Universalizability. †¨Kant believes that a perfect duty is one that must be met. If a person fails to meet a perfect duty Kant argues she has done something wrong. He maintains that all people have a perfect duty to act in such a way that their actions could be universalized and no logical contradiction would occur. Assum ing someone who needs to borrow money and is considering making a false promise to pay it back. The maxim that could be invoked is, when I need money, I will borrow it and promise to pay back even though I do not intend to. This principle of â€Å"self love† according to (Scalet Arthur, 2012) might produce some happiness for the person but how right is this. When the principle of universality is applied to this test, the maxim becomes clear that if everyone were to act in this manner, the institution of promising itself wouldShow MoreRelatedComparing Aristotle And John Stuart Mill1130 Words   |  5 Pageshowever I intend to concentrate of the famous works of Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill. After meticulously analyzing each of the above philosophers’ texts, I personally prefer the position of utilitarian and Benthamite, John Stuart Mill. After comparing and contrasting the positions and reasonings of these philosophers, I will demonstrate my own reas ons why I have chosen John Stuart Mill as the most established in his theory of the role of pleasure in morality. Aristotle was a particularlyRead MorePhilosophical Analysis of Aristotle883 Words   |  4 PagesUnlike Kantian, Aristotle states that there are many ways for a man to utilize virtue within his life to achieve the highest good. There are various happiness but duty and standard are the same for all thing. Thus, Kant’s ethical theory is more compelling than Aristotle’s ethics. Kant is implying that one has to treat someone different as a person with dignity and intrinsic worth. He advises people to be treating others as if they were as much as man or women as you are. While explaining the conceptRead MoreImmanuel Kant And John Stuart Mill948 Words   |  4 Pagesyou do it? Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill would give you strongly contrasting opinions. 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