Analyzing Bias in Mainstream News Media
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Introduction
Immanuel Kant’s perspective on moral imperatives highlights that all individuals must follow moral laws regardless of their interests or extenuating circumstances. Kant introduced the principle in the 18th century as part of his philosophical works. The theory is based on the principle of universalizability, which dictates that an action taken by an individual should be able to be completed by anyone. In particular, Kant introduced the theory of categorical imperative, which highlights that people base their decisions on human will, and the decisions should be universally acceptable to be moral.
Theory of Categorical Imperative
Kant introduced a moral perspective that could be a standard for all moral obligations. The principle of categorical imperative was first mentioned in the 1700s by Immanuel Kant.1 The principle is based on an individual’s unconditional moral obligation in the decisions that people make. Moral imperatives are introduced to guide the decisions made by individuals at a given moment, ensuring that they can be morally acceptable. Thus, Kant’s perspective on moral imperatives serves as a standard to guide the morality of the decisions made by people.
1. Tetiana Pavlova et al., “Ethics and Law in Kant’s Views: The Principle of Complementarity,” International Journal of Ethics and Systems 35, no. 4 (2019): 653, https://doi.org/10.1108/ijoes-04-2019-0080.
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Human Will
Kart’s perspective on moral imperatives is based on the notion that individuals have the free will to make their decisions. Kant highlights that the function of human will is to select a choice from the multiple available decisions.2 People have many options available at any particular moment, and they have the will to pick any decision they want and stand by it. The decisions may be influenced by internal or external factors, while the choices made are based on the rationale of consideration. Rationality determines what is necessary for people to do and the decision they should select at any particular moment. The rationality of consideration shows that morality is based on what is necessary for individuals to do and not the gratification of the outcomes. Hence, Kant’s perspective on moral imperatives is based on human will.
2. Jeffrey White, “Autonomous Reboot: Kant, the Categorical Imperative, and Contemporary Challenges for Machine Ethicists,” AI & Society 37, no. 2 (2021): 661, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-020-01142-4.
Universalizability Principle
Categorical imperatives are moral laws that every individual should follow. Moral laws are universal, and a specific decision that one individual makes should be morally acceptable to any other member of society. In this case, all people should act in accordance with the moral law, which can be regarded as the universal law.3 It means that individuals must select different choices based on the necessities that they have at a specific moment. Even if such choices may be different, they should be universally acceptable, and any other individual can make them too. In turn, if a specific decision is considered moral, it is binding for all individuals regardless of the circumstances they are based on. Everyone should be able to make similar decisions at any given moment. Therefore, Kant’s principle of categorical imperative highlights that an action is moral if it can be made by anyone and is universally acceptable.
3. Yue Wang, Yuan Zhao, and Fuhui Song, “The Ethical Issues of Animal Testing in Cosmetics Industry,” Humanities and Social Sciences 8, no. 4 (2020): 113, https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12.
Conclusion
Kant introduced categorical imperatives to guide the morality of the decisions that individuals make at any given moment. According to Kant, decisions are made based on human will and can be affected by internal or external factors. As a result, the decision that one individual makes should be universally acceptable for all people and can be made at any moment, regardless of the extenuating circumstances.
Bibliography
Pavlova, Tetiana, Elena Zarutska, Roman Pavlov, and Oleksandra Kolomoichenko. “Ethics and Law in Kant’s Views: The Principle of Complementarity.” International Journal of Ethics and Systems 35, no. 4 (2019): 651–664. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijoes-04-2019-0080.
Wang, Yue, Yuan Zhao, and Fuhui Song. “The Ethical Issues of Animal Testing in Cosmetics Industry.” Humanities and Social Sciences 8, no. 4 (2020): 112–116. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12.
White, Jeffrey. “Autonomous Reboot: Kant, the Categorical Imperative, and Contemporary Challenges for Machine Ethicists.” AI & Society Y 37, no. 2 (2021): 661–673. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-020-01142-4.
