Kant: The German father and Morality - Essay Example

Kant: The German father and Morality Apply Kant’s first and third formulations to the following case. What isthe father’s duty in this situation, according to Kant?  According to Kant’s first formulation, one should “act only in accordance with that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction” (Kant 19). He goes further to state that perfect duties are those that may attract blame if they are not carried out. The first formulation also mentions imperfect duty, for which one is likely to receive praise if and when it is carried out.

The third formulation states thus, “therefore, every being that is rational must act as that if he were through his maxim always a legislating member in the universal kingdom of ends” (Kant 20). In other words, the third maxim encourages acting only by those maxims which will bring harmony when in a certain situation (perfect duty) rather than acting in ways that may lead to undesirable results (imperfect duty). In this case, the father has a moral obligation to take care of his family. He also has a duty to take care of the Jewish family.

The father knows that it is wrong for the Nazis to round up and kill Jews in concentration camps. He has the duty to save the Jewish family because if he does not he will be responsible for whatever the Nazis will do to them. Do you agree that morality involves obeying universal duties and that we cannot make exceptions for ourselves if we are to act morally? I agree that morality involves the obedience of universal duties. Universal duties include taking care of the needs of other people around us.

We all have the duty to ensure that every individual’s human rights are not violated in any way. We are all morally obliged to carry out our duties which should be for the good of all mankind, ourselves included. Acting morally has got to do with doing unto others what you would like them to do for you. Everyone would want others to do good or the right thing for them. if we make exceptions for ourselves, then others are bound to make exceptions for themselves, and morality would slowly die in such a situation.

Are there any situations where you think it would be morally permissible to make an exception for yourself and act in a way that you would not want/will all other people to act?  There are situations where I would have to make exceptions for myself although I would not will other people to do the same. For instance, killing someone is morally wrong. However, there are some situations where taking someone else’s life becomes paramount. A case in point is when in a situation whereby there is a gunman in your house, holding a gun to your head and threatening to blow your head off at the slightest provocation.

You want to save your life through any means possible. However, there is no way to disarm the gunman, therefore you will have to use whatever means are available to ensure that the gunman does not pull the trigger. You have a knife with you and you plunge it into the gunman’s chest the moment you have a chance to do so. The gunman might either die or survive, but you did whatever you did, not because you enjoy doing it, but because it was the only way to save your own life. Killing is not something that I would advocate for, but in this situation, then it is acceptable in a moral sense.

Work Cited Kant, Immanuel. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals: On a Supposed Right to Lie Because of Philanthropic Concerns, Section 2. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, 1993. Print.