The Moral Philosopher - Essay Example

? Emmanuel Kant: The Moral Philosopher Emmanuel Kant: The Moral Philosopher There have been many findings from differentexperts in the field of human psychology as a relative aspect of personal as well as professional lives of individuals and their fluctuating traits. The need for developing a thoughtful evaluation of standardized expectations about human behavior is necessary for the proper distinguishing of an individual’s impulsive changes from his inherited traits standing as reasons for deviations which may appear in his normal life. Emmanuel Kant is arguably one of the greatest western philosophers who devised methods to evaluate the reason and functioning of morality in human mind. According to him, ‘Categorical Imperative’ which is a standard of rationality determines morality. And, hence, the violation of CI becomes irrational and thereby an immoral act. From among the lists of names that appear before a researcher’s choice for references, Emmanuel Kant is the most prolific name as he is regarded as the most admired scholar in the field of modern philosophy. The greatest name in the present day philosophy was a German, born on 22 April 1724, to live only 79 years in this world. The thinker’s life was all about searching the facts that were hidden behind the fluctuating human tendencies to react to changing circumstances and the prominence of controllable factors lying in the apparently inexplicable character demonstrations of human beings. Kant’s time was during the eighteenth century, the relevance of exploring his observations is everlasting – at least until human being stops erring, either intentionally or instinctively. The magnificent effect of his appraisal of human behavior modals and the quality of his observations relative of the thesis of his researches make him a stalwart in his field. Among all his remarkable theories, Kant’s approach on metaphysical elements of human psychology is remarkable as they deal with the reasons behind ethics in detail. According to his view (Kant & Abbot, 2008, p. 15), the obedience to moral laws followed by the rather unholy human minds is derivative of the constraints set by the notion of duty vested in them. He explains that the development of a resistance mechanism incepts in the human minds against the seductions of external factors which attracts an individual to do the morally wrong things and this development obstructs him most of the time from involuntary actions by submitting to the force of moral laws. Kant’s arguments go in support with the existence of a motivation in human minds proportionate to the need for respecting moral laws. His theory on moral laws is further explained with the evidences of civic behavior of individuals to show respect to the sets of rules administered by social and legal laws. What he establishes with the philosophical views is the abstinence of an individual from a theoretically developed set of rules does not constitute respect for the code of ethics to be followed as per the guidelines of any institutional body. Kant’s view on the aspect of humility concerns on individuals as a matter of comparative elements surrounding normal social life is inspirational for the enhancement of self-esteem in order to build a stronger personality. Kant (Kant, Heath & Schneewind, 1997, p. 129) argues that the usual feelings of human beings to find comparative standards among one another is insignificant of the desired levels required for developing a franchise to evaluate the real meaning of humility that is expected only to derive from the self-assessment of an individual’s distance from the actual standards he sets based on his own moral laws. The constraints set by the influence of moral laws thus are decisive of the integrity of an individual with the combination of ethics and self-esteem needs based on the ability to create choices of preferences in his social life. An empirical study of by Emmanuel Kant reviews the features of a comparative examination of both civic laws and moral laws based on human values. According to his findings, motivations occurring in the form of federal applications are not constructive of making human morality. Therefore, the absence of obedience to moral laws while the application of social laws is being observed successful does not motivate an individual to feel his esteem liberty that relieves him from the feeling of taking his duties as the compulsions he has to undergo in order to satisfy the requirements of the laws set before him. In this course, a person performing actions to negotiate with the purpose of achieving a positive motivation may not always be morally content from the quests of his esteem feelings. This observation is accepted by many researchers to arrive at a conclusion that moral self-policing by an individual eventually leads to the social good, which is essentially a fundamental principle necessary for the survival of humanity. According to the opinion of Anderson-Gold (2001, p. 8), Kant’s moral philosophy on moral good is analyzed as a bridge that links the individual moral perfectness with the virtue it yields to the benefit of the society as a whole. The contributions of Emmanuel Kant with his philosophical approach to human morality have yielded much to the benefit of further findings in the field of progressive history evaluations of an evil-versus-good ethics among many modern philosophers. The assumptions of Kant (as found in Kant & Gregor, 1996, p. 175) proves true as the prominence of an individual’s moral duty usually stands on the basis of his respect for the formal sets of principles that attaches him to the respect for humanity he possess for self. In whatever way, the philosophy of moral laws identified by Emmanuel Kant emphasizes the importance of a person’s self evaluation as a human being distinctive from a mere follower of social guidelines for the wellbeing of the society as a whole. In an overview, the whole episode of Kant’s revelations on the researches on morality suggests that the respect for laws, both civic and moral, is the basis of social life of individuals. Kant’s philosophy of moral laws is considered as the platform for analysis of differential human perspectives as it considers that moral reasoning is the invisible factor that motivates individuals to abide by the force of moral requirements. Thus Kant underlines the existence of reason-requirement relationship in the social interactions of individuals which acts as the basis of all morality concerns of the humanity. References Anderson-Gold, S. (2001). Unnecessary evil: history and moral progress in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. SUNY Press. Kant, E & Abbott, T. K. (2008). The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics. Maryland: Arc Manor LLC. Kant, I., Heath, P & Schneewind, J. B. (1997). Lectures on Ethics. Cambridge University Press. Kant, I & Gregor, M. J. (1996). Kant: The Metaphysics of Morals. Cambridge University Press. Read More