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Explain How the Various Formulations of the Categorical Imperatives Might Be Applied to an Ethical Issue? [25]

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Explain how the various formulations of the Categorical Imperatives might be applied to an ethical issue? [25]

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is best known for his ‘Copernican Revolution’ in the theory of knowledge. He argued that space, time and causality were features of the way our minds organise experience, rather than features of the external world. Kant’s ethical theory was deontological and absolute. We use reason for morality acceptance. His categorical imperatives are part of Kant’s ethical theory, they require the sense of reason (which he believed that a human possess). He believed that if you combined ones duty with goodwill it will result in a moral act. Mixed emotions will not do in a moral situation, you need to exclude all possible emotions to make a perfect moral action. This will then result to summum bonum (an afterlife with God). However, to work out what your duty is, is an ethical dilemma. We can link Kant’s Categorical Imperatives (CI) to euthanasia.

Euthanasia is terminating a patients life, painlessly, who is suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. Terminating someone's life can be voluntary (someone helps a person die) or involuntary ( where a patient is capable of ending their own life). Euthanasia can also be passive (food and water deprivation) or active (injected a patient with a medicine which will painlessly kill them). There are many churches and religions which will deny this mercy killing. Natural law followers will believe all life is sacred and we should not just end someone's life. People suffer so that our souls can mature and grow. Without suffering, our soul does not grow spiritually and we are denying and disobeying Gods purpose. Referring back to Kant, Kant is also absolute and therefore we should use reasoning for what is morally accepted and what is not.The quality of someone's life

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