Kant's Treatment of Animals

Philosophy ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 49 (190) ◽  
pp. 375-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Broadie ◽  
Elizabeth M. Pybus
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Moral View ◽  
Moral Wisdom ◽  
Doctrine Of The Mean ◽  
Philosophical Consideration ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Philosophical Underpinning

Some of the greatest writers on moral philosophy have claimed that their theories about morality do not run counter to the moral views of ordinary men, but on the contrary are an elucidation of such views, or provide them with a sound philosophical underpinning. Aristotle, for example, made it quite clear that he could not take seriously a moral view that was at odds with the heritage of moral wisdom deeply imbedded in his society. His doctrine of the mean was based on a philosophical consideration of such wisdom. And Immanuel Kant thought that his moral philosophy articulated the moral views of ordinary men.

Happiness, Virtue, and Political Society

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Rudavsky
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Political Society ◽  
Ideal Model ◽  
The Road ◽  
Doctrine Of The Mean ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
Divine Law

Chapter 9 is concerned with social and political behavior. Even in the context of moral philosophy, Jewish philosophers discuss issues within the wider context of a rational scientific perspective. This chapter begins with specific moral codes developed by Jewish thinkers, focusing in particular upon the works of Ibn Gabirol, Baḥya ibn Paquda, Maimonides, and Crescas. Can there be ethical dictates independent of the commandments? The rabbis already worried whether there existed a domain of “right behavior” that pre-dates, or exists independently of, divine commandment. Does Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean apply to divine law? Furthermore, can all humans achieve intellectual perfection? Is the road the same, and open, to all? And is there only one road to ultimate felicity, or are there many routes? The chapter ends with a discussion of whether human felicity can be achieved in this life, and whether the prophet best represents the ideal model for such achievement.

scholarly journals 以儒家中庸思想探討生命倫理學基本理論和原則

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-131
Author(s):  
Hongxia WANG
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Moral Virtue ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Doctrine Of The Mean ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Digital Commons ◽  
Confucian Thought ◽  
Bioethical Issues ◽  
The Mean

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.中庸是孔子儒學思想的核心。中庸既承認絕對道德的存在，即“玄德”的存在，又承認具體道德的相對性，即“時權”的方法。與此同時，中庸帶有一定的功利主義的思想。本文認為，中庸的思想可以用不同的方式，解決義務論和功利主義（或效益主義）之間的矛盾。由於中庸提倡既不能“過”，也不能“不及”，其思想為我們看待生命倫理學原則的一般性和特殊性的關係、義務性和功利性的關係，以及對我們解決生命倫理學中的具體問題，如生死，提供了理論與實踐的基礎。This essay explores the doctrine of the mean as the key concept in Confucian thought and practice, contending that it has both general and specific dimensions as it recognizes the absoluteness of moral and ethical principles while acknowledging the importance of relativity in concrete situations when those principles are used. The notion of the “mean” is thus not merely a moral virtue that enables the avoidance of extremes; rather, it is utilitarian because it looks for goodness and effectiveness.This essay points out that the Confucian notion of the mean can be applied to a wide range of bioethical issues, particularly the way we look at life and death in the case of euthanasia and abortion. In Western moral philosophy, there has always been some disagreement about the importance of principles and rules to morality exemplified by the debate between Kantians and utilitarians. The essay argues that the doctrine of the mean in Confucianism offers an alternative way of examining the differences between these two moral approaches.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 300 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

Aristotle’s Mean in Politics and Religion

DIALOGO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-143
Author(s):  
Spyridon Stelios ◽  
Alexia Dotsi
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Cultural Patterns ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Politics And Religion ◽  
Doctrine Of The Mean ◽  
Administration Of Justice ◽  
Collective Processes ◽  
Cultural Public Sphere ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Witch Hunts

In this paper, we investigate the political and religious projection of Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean. According to Aristotle and his virtue ethics theory, humans succeed the mean when they acknowledge in what they are physically inclined to. If someone knows towards where she is deviating, either in terms of exaggeration or understatement, then she can, at some point, achieve the mean as the end goal of ethical virtue. But what if these moral evaluations refer to collective processes, such as politics, culture and religion? In this case, the notion of “intermediate” could be paralleled with the notion of ‘optimized’. A way of locating the optimized point on the political or cultural public sphere is to acknowledge in what people are politically or culturally inclined to. This seems to be guided by their cultural traditions, political history and aims. In politics and modern democracies, the doctrine may be applied in virtues, such as justice. Excess in the administration of justice causes "witch hunts" and deficiency lawlessness. Respectively, in today’s religious-oriented societies - countries that could be ranked according to their religiosity – where there is little tolerance in their permissible cultural patterns, the application of Aristotle’s mean reveals interesting findings. More specifically, in the case of the virtue of honor, the excess may lead to honor crimes and deficiency to contempt.

scholarly journals Kant’s Categorical Imperative and Duty

2018 ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Karif Jal Basara
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Categorical Imperative ◽  
Philosophical Concept ◽  
Metaphysics Of Morals

The categorical imperative is the central philosophical concept in the deontological moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Introduced in Kant's 1785 Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, it may be defined as a way of evaluating motivations for action.

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