Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals [SUMMARY] by Immanuel Kant

This video stitches together my last three videos on Kant's Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. Please note that this summarizes the preface, section one, section two, and covers Kant's essay "On the Supposed Right To Lie Based on Philanthropic Concerns". Concepts addressed in this summary include universality, the good will, duty, and the categorical imperative and two of its formulations. This video summary does not cover section 3 of the book.
#philosophy #ethics #moral

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[peachy]

I just finished "Monster" and this video was immediately recommended

[willieluncheonette]

" I am reminded of a great German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. He is a specimen of those people who are absolutely in the mind. He lived according to mind so totally that people used to set their watches, whenever they saw Immanuel Kant going to the university. Never — it may rain, it may rain fire, it may rain cats and dogs, it may be utterly cold, snow falling … Whatever the situation, Kant will reach the university at exactly the same time all the year round, even on holidays. Such a fixed, almost mechanical … He would go on holiday at exactly the same time, remain in the university library, which was specially kept open for him, because otherwise what would he do there the whole day? And he was a very prominent, well-known philosopher, and he would leave the university at exactly the same time every day.

One day it happened … It had rained and there was too much mud on the way — one of his shoes got stuck in the mud. He did not stop to take the shoe out because that would make him reach the university a few seconds later, and that was impossible. He left the shoe there. He just arrived with one shoe. The students could not believe it. Somebody asked, “What happened to the other shoe?”

He said, “It got stuck in the mud, so I left it there, knowing perfectly well nobody is going to steal one shoe. When I return in the evening, then I will pick it up. But I could not have been late.”

A woman proposed to him: “I want to be married to you” — a beautiful young woman. Perhaps no woman has ever received such an answer, before or after Immanuel Kant. Either you say, “Yes, ” or you say, “No. Excuse me.” Immanuel Kant said, “I will have to do a great deal of research.”

The woman asked, “About what?”

He said, “I will have to look in all the marriage manuals, all the books concerning marriage, and find out all the pros and cons — whether to marry or not to marry.”

The woman could not imagine that this kind of answer had ever been given to any woman before. Even no is acceptable, even yes, although you are getting into a misery, but it is acceptable. But this kind of indifferent attitude towards the woman — he did not say a single sweet word to her. He did not say anything about her beauty, his whole concern was his mind. He had to convince his mind whether or not marriage is logically the right thing.

It took him three years. It was really a long search. Day and night he was working on it, and he had found three hundred reasons against marriage and three hundred reasons for marriage. So the problem even after three years was the same.

One friend suggested out of compassion, “You wasted three years on this stupid research. In three years you would have experienced all these six hundred, without any research. You should have just said yes to that woman. There was no need to do so much hard work. Three years would have given you all the pros and cons — existentially, experientially.”

But Kant said, “I am in a fix. Both are equal, parallel, balanced. There is no way to choose.”

The friend suggested, “Of the pros you have forgotten one thing: that whenever there is a chance, it is better to say yes and go through the experience. That is one thing more in favor of the pros. The cons cannot give you any experience, and only experience has any validity.”

He understood, it was intellectually right. He immediately went to the woman’s house, knocked on her door. Her old father opened the door and said, “Young man, you are too late. You took too long in your research. My girl is married and has two children.” That was the last thing that was ever heard about his marriage. From then on no woman ever asked him, and he was not the kind of man to ask anybody. He remained unmarried."

[TheMjsanty]

Regarding the “ lying to a murderer, ” this could be an example of a bad actor’s language game. He is not asking for the friend’s location just to know (as a good dialectician would). Rather, he is asking for your help/permission to murder your friend. So answering “No” is not lying.
Kart’s point about detaching action from effect would still apply.

[susantamang]

god knows why i chose this for my paper.

[AlfredoMaranca]

On the other hand, the man was untruthful when he said that his friend could hide in his house. He should fairly say that he is a fundamentalist Kantian freak and he would tell the psychopath where he was, the first time he asked.

[ilsej]

this was extremely helpful, thank you

[BorisNVM]

I find it simplistic using the universal thing like kant says, i think a more realistic approach should be to use a universal law something like "not do harm or try to reduce when the harm is unavoidable". I think this "law" is kinda universal and it could be applied better to all the examples, e.g. you would lie to the murderer with the axe because you must reduce the harm in people, and the right to live outweights the right to know the truth.

[jackiemoyle]

The way I shrieked when I saw a Johan stick figure on my screen

[kennethshirah]

What about the guy he lost that essay competition to?

[SeanAndrews-ul]

Rogue one IS a good star wars movie!!!!