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This is a 3 page paper that provides an overview of Kantian ethics. An emphasis is placed on the Kantian paradox. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KW60_KFphi030.doc
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Mill, to the extent that "Kantian ethics" are now widely viewed as one of the major categorical divisions of ethical thought. Nevertheless, perhaps owing to the complexity and depth of
Kants ethical writings, there do exist some contradictions that provide points of contention for Kants critics. Chief among the contradictions found in Kants philosophical writings is what has come to
be known as the "Kantian paradox", a conundrum relating to the proper manifestation of the state contra the individual. This paradox, however, also has severe implications for Kants moral philosophy,
and provide a meaningful criticism. This paper will explore the Kantian paradox and how it relates to Kants moral philosophy. To begin with, it is necessary, however, to give a
brief overview of the moralistic system from which Kant is operating. Central to Kantian ethics is the claim that ethical "maxims" can be utilized in order to resolve even the
most profound ethical problems; these maxims are named the Categorical Imperatives by Kant. These Imperatives provide guidelines for ethical behavior, stating that one should only act in such a manner
that one could develop a maxim from that manner which could be willed to become a universal law, that one should treat other people as ends in themselves rather than
as means to an end, and that one should act in such a manner that considers ones maxim in the context of a universal collective of all humanity, rather than
in isolation. It is this last formulation that is of particular interest to the Kantian paradox. Chiefly, Kant asserts that one must act autonomously to give ones self moral maxims
by which to act, and that those maxims must be formulated in a manner through which one performs an ethical duty for its own sake rather than through some external
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