It’s All About Duty

By the end of this class, you will:

  1. Be able to articulate Kant’s notion of a “maxim” and his test for whether a maxim counts as a duty, and to be able to give examples that illustrate that test
  2. Be able to explain Kant’s Categorical Imperative
  3. Discuss the different ways that Kantians and utilitarians view our moral obligations.

(K2, K6, K8, D3)

Before the Plenary

Read This

PHILOSOPHICAL TEXT:

A brief Exposition of Kant’s “Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals”

Watch This

After the Plenary

  1. Reflect on today’s reading and on the following questions: Do I lean more toward the Utilitarian view of Moral Obligation or more towards Kant’s View. As there any types of action that it would always be wrong to perform, regardless of how bad the consequences of not performing it are?
  2. Visit MIT’s Moral Machine Website at https://www.moralmachine.net/. Make judgments about all 13 scenarios.  As you do so, jot down some principles that seem to be guiding your judgments in each of the cases.

Be prepared to discuss your responses with your Peer Dialogue Group.