Kant Research Essay

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Sexual desire
Moral evaluations of sexual activity are determined by judgments on the nature of the sexual impulse. In this light, philosophies fall into two camps:[1]
A negative understanding of sexuality, such as from Immanuel Kant, believes that sexuality undermines values, and challenges our moral treatment of other persons. Sex, says Kant, "makes of the loved person an Object of appetite"[2] In this understanding, sex is often advised only for the purpose of procreation. Sometimes Sexual celibacy is considered to lead to the best, or most moral life.[3]
A positive understanding of sexuality, (such as from Russell Vannoy, Irving Singer) understand sexual activity as pleasing the self and the other at the same time.

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Kantian ethics
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Kantian ethics refers to a deontological ethical theory ascribed to the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. The theory, developed as a result of Enlightenment rationalism, is based on the view that the only intrinsically good thing is a good will; an action can only be good, therefore, if its maxim – the principle behind it – is duty to the moral law. Central to Kant's construction of the moral law is the categorical imperative, which acts on all people, regardless of their interests or desires. Kant formulated the categorical imperative in various ways. His principle of universalisability requires that, for an action to be permissible, it must be possible to apply it to all people without a contradiction occurring. His formulation of humanity as an ends in itself requires that humans are never treated merely as a means to an end, but always also as ends in themselves. The formulation of autonomy concludes that rational agents are bound to the moral law by their own will, while Kant's concept of the Kingdom of Ends requires that people act as if the principles of their actions establish a law for a hypothetical kingdom. Kant also distinguished between perfect and imperfect duties. A perfect duty, such as the duty not to lie, always holds true; an imperfect duty, such as the duty to give to charity, can be made flexible and applied in particular time and place.
American philosopher Louis Pojman has cited Pietism, political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the contemporary debate between rationalism and empiricism, and the influence of natural law as influences on the development of Kant's ethics. Other philosophers have argued that Kant's parents and his teacher, Martin Knutzen, influenced his ethics. Those influenced by Kantian ethics include philosopher Jürgen Habermas, political philosopher John Rawls, and psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel criticised Kant for not providing specific enough detail in his moral theory to affect decision-making and for denying human nature. German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer argued that ethics should attempt to describe how people behave and criticised Kant for being prescriptive. Michael Stocker has argued that acting out of duty can diminish other moral motivations such as friendship, while Marcia Baron has defended the theory by arguing that duty does not diminish other motivations. The Catholic Church has criticised Kant's ethics as contradictory and regards Christian ethics as more compatible with virtue ethics.
The claim that all humans are due dignity and respect as autonomous agents means that medical professionals should be happy for their treatments to be performed upon anyone, and that patients must never be treated merely as useful for society. Kant's approach to sexual ethics emerged from his view that humans should never be used merely as a means to an end, leading him to regard sexual activity as degrading and to condemn certain specific sexual practices. Feminist philosophers have used Kantian ethics to condemn practices such as prostitution
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