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A 5 page essay that contrasts and compares Kant's ethical system against the Utilitarianism of John Stuart Mill. The writer discusses both system in relation to the morality of lying. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khimjsm.rtf
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of rubric that can guide individuals in making moral decisions pertaining to a variety of situations as to what they "ought" to do. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) in his text Grounding
for the Metaphysics of Morals and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) in his book Utilitarianism are two philosophers that have addressed this problem and provided ethical systems by which behavior
can be judged. In order to evaluate the efficacy of these systems, consider the morality of a situation that is common to everyday experience, lying. People tell social lies all
the time that serve to avoid conflict and ease the "wheels" of social relationships. They say things like "Thats a pretty dress (or tie)" when, in fact, it is hideous,
etc. Is this wrong according to Kant or Mill? The foundation of Kants moral philosophy is the "categorical imperative," which Kant defines as when individuals act as if they
can "will" that their actions can "become a universal law" (Kant, 1993, p. 30). In other words, Kants main criteria for action is that the individual should consider what would
happen to society if personal action could influence all other action and become a universal law and could be applied regardless of the specific circumstances of the situation. In discussing
this principle, Kant directly addresses the topic of lying by posing the question: "When I am in distress, may I may a promise with the intention of not keeping it"
(1993, p. 14). While Kant admits that there are situations in which keeping a promise will do more damage than in not keeping it, he insists that the ultimate question
is whether or not such a maxim should become universal law. From this perspective, he can "will the lie but cannot at all will the universal law to lie" (1993,
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