Lone Star College Kant’s Categorical and Hypothetical Imperative Discussion
Lone Star College Kant’s Categorical and Hypothetical Imperative Discussion
Paper Topics
Choose ONE
of the following questions to respond to for your paper topic:
1. Consider the scenarios involving the unwilling moral agents of Jim and George in
Bernard William’s “Utilitarianism & Integrity”. Describe the events that occur in each
scenario (Be detailed your descriptions.) Explain how these events relate to the Brain in a
Vat scenario in Robert Nozick’s “The Experience Machine”. Additionally explain how
the thought experiments in each article exemplify objections regarding consequentialist
judgments. Finally, using the selection from Mill’s
Utilitarianism
to demonstrate how
these objections might be unwarranted. Provide a detailed scenario that demonstrates
your formulation of the unwarranted objections.
2. Describe Kant’s line of reasoning in which he arrives at the Categorical Imperative.
(Simply stating the Categorical Imperative is not enough to satisfy this question.
Describe Kant’s reasoning to the best of your ability. Citing outside sources may be
necessary to do this.)
What does this imply that all agents must have access to? Is this a
reasonable constraint on moral agency and moral decision making? Additionally consider
the Case of the Inquiring Murder once more. Provide a scenario in which it would be in
accordance with laws of your country to tell the Inquiring Murder which way the victim
went. Describe how this might be in accordance with the Categorical Imperative.
3. Consider Thomas Nagel’s article, “Moral Luck”. State the Control Principle. State the
conditions for moral luck and how moral luck results from the Control Principle.
Describe Nagel’s four kinds of moral luck. Give examples for how each of these would
violate the Control Principle. When viewing Nagel’s position as a response to Kantian
ethics, what is the most fundamental way in which we should evaluate moral judgments?
Moreover, how does moral luck affect consequentialist judgments? Provide scenarios for
instances in which moral luck might complicate both Kantian and consequentialist
judgments (Make sure your scenarios include resolutions.)
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A thesis statement, introduction, and conclusion
Adhere to the minimum and maximum word counts
Proper formatting, spelling and punctuation
MLA citations and a Works Cited page
Incomplete papers, or outlines will not be considered for credit or comment. Please review Academic Integrity Policy in the course syllabus, as well as information on plagiarism in the Paper Module – Penalties for violating this policy still apply to the draft. Please review the paper module for specific information about the paper structure and citations.YouTube videos, the dictionary, encyclopedias (not approved), and generally non-academic sources are not appropriate sources for papers. Please consult a librarian for more information.
