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Mistrust and suspicion are on the increase in our society;
and confidence in our institutions is in decline. To understand
why a “crisis of trust” is so serious, we must take account
of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant,
who placed honesty and trustworthiness at the heart of his
theory of how we should live.
Kant
(1724-1804) spent his whole life in Königsberg, in Prussia,
and taught at the local university. He produced some of the
most profound works of philosophy ever written, in metaphysics
and aesthetics as well as in ethics, and is generally regarded
as the most important philosopher since Aristotle.
He wrote several works of moral philosophy, but the best-known
is the short but enormously influential Groundwork of the
Metaphysic of Morals (1785), which has inspired many contemporary
philosophers, including Onora
O’Neill. His influence can also be seen in the wider world,
in the everyday recognition of the moral importance of informed
consent and of human dignity.
The most important features of Kant’s
ethical theory are his conceptions of human worth, and of
the ideal moral community. Kant believes that all people have
absolute value, or dignity, because they can be autonomous
and rational, and that they should be treated in ways that
recognize these capacities. Kant gives two accounts of how
to treat other people. First, he thinks that when you decide
what to do, you should act on a principle that others could
adopt and act on; you should not treat yourself as an exception
to the rule. This is Kant’s version of the Golden Rule, “do
as you would be done by” that is found in many different religious
and ethical systems.
Secondly, Kant
thinks that you must not use other people in ways to which
they could not consent. You ought to respect others; you should
not use or manipulate them simply as a means to benefit yourself.
People should be treated as having dignity, as “ends”, not
merely as means. Kant develops a picture of the ideal moral
community using this conception of how people should be treated.
The ideal community is a “kingdom of ends” in which people
are never merely used by others, and no one acts on principles
to which others could not consent.
According to Kant’s system, there are ...
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