06 Oct 1. Explain why, for Kant, whe
1. Explain why, for Kant, when it comes to an action having moral worth or deserving moral praise, the action needs to be done "from" or "for the sake of" duty and why actions that are merely in "accordance with" or happen to align with duty are not morally praiseworthy. In your explanation, make sure to refer to the importance, for Kant, that morality has a necessary, objective, and universal ground (200 word count).
2. Explain what Varoufakis thinks is the moral responsibility of European counties regarding the issue of welcoming refugees instead of closing the borders in the midst of the Syrian crisis. In your answer, make sure to explain how he uses the categorical imperative as opposed to consequentialism (100 word count).
9/28/21, 10:03 AM Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Chapter 2 – Part 1 Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes
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Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Immanuel Kant
Summary
Chapter 2 – Part 1
Summary
It is generally recognized that actions are not truly moral if they are performed in conformity with duty but not for the sake of duty alone.
Nevertheless, it is almost impossible to �nd examples of actions performed exclusively out of a sense of duty. Nearly every action we observe can
be attributed to some motive other than pure duty. Indeed, it is often impossible to know whether even our own true motives are pure.
The lack of examples of pure moral action may seem disheartening. Yet we may take heart in the fact that all rational beings may recognize that
reason imposes clear moral demands.
Furthermore, we should recognize that it would be impossible for us to derive universal moral laws from speci�c events and experiences; since all
events are contingent upon speci�c circumstances, none of our experiences can be a source of moral principles that apply in all cases and all
circumstances. Even our idea of God, the perfect being, is not based on experience, but rather on our a priori idea of moral perfection. Developing a
clearer understanding of a priori moral concepts can help to reinforce our moral sense against the distractions of competing interests and
motivations.
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Rational beings may align their "will" either with the objective laws of reason and morality or with subjective needs and interests. Reason's demands
may be called "imperatives." "Hypothetical imperatives" command that a particular action is necessary as a means to some purpose, such as the
attainment of personal happiness. "Categorical imperatives" command that some action is necessary in and of itself.
Hypothetical imperatives are regular and obvious occurrences. Anytime someone settles upon some purpose or objective, reason may make clear
to them what course of action they should pursue. This undertaking is more complicated in the case of indeterminate objectives like happiness,
where it is di�cult to know what particular actions will bring about the goal. Nevertheless, we have no problem understanding that people have
chosen to act in a certain way as a result of a hypothetical imperative.
By contrast, we cannot �nd evidence for categorical imperatives in the decisions and actions we observe. People may appear to act in a certain way
because of a pure demand of reason, yet we can never be sure that they do not have some circumstantial interest or ulterior motive other than a
pure categorical imperative. Categorical imperatives must therefore be derived a priori.
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9/28/21, 10:03 AM Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Chapter 2 – Part 1 Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes
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9/28/21, 10:03 AM The Refugee Crisis, Immanuel Kant And Germany’s Moral Leadership
https://socialeurope.eu/the-refugee-crisis-immanuel-kant-and-germanys-moral-leadership 1/4
by Yanis Varoufakis on 16th September 2015
Yanis Varoufakis
Economists err when they think that human rationality is all about
applying one’s means ef�ciently in order to achieve one’s ends. That the
ef�cient application of available resources in the pursuit of given
objectives is an important dimension of our Reason, there is no doubt.
The error however sips in when economists, and those in�uenced by
them, assume that this is all rationality is about.
This type of instrumental approach to the meaning of Reason massively
underestimates perhaps the one ingredient of human reasoning that
makes us exceptional animals: the capacity to subject our ends, our
objectives, to rational scrutiny. To ask ourselves not just questions such
as “Should I invest in bonds or shares?” but also questions of the type: “I
like X but should I like it?”
This summer we, Europeans, faced major challenges to our integrity and soul. The in�ow of refugees tested our
humanity and our rationality felt the strain of needing to make hard choices. Most European nations, and their
governments, failed the test of history spectacularly. Closing borders down, stopping trains on their tracks, treating
people in need as an existentialist threat, indulging in bickering at the level of the European Union as to who will bear
a lesser part of the burden – all in all, Europe behaved abominably leading the Italian Prime Minister to utter in
desperation: “If this is Europe, I do not want to be part of it.”
Social Europe politics, economy and employment & labour
The Refugee Crisis, Immanuel Kant And Germany’s Moral Leadership
9/28/21, 10:03 AM The Refugee Crisis, Immanuel Kant And Germany’s Moral Leadership
https://socialeurope.eu/the-refugee-crisis-immanuel-kant-and-germanys-moral-leadership 2/4
One country stood out, showing moral leadership on this issue: Germany. The sight of thousands of Germans
welcoming wretched refugees who had been turned away in several other European countries was one to savour and
one to extract considerable hope from. Hope that Europe’s soul has not been lost entirely. Chancellor Merkel’s
relaxed leadership on the matter, even the magnanimous attitude of otherwise misanthropic German tabloids to the
in�owing refugees, made amends for Europe’s failure to rise up to this humanitarian crisis.
Many have imputed ulterior motives to Germany’s generosity. Poor German demographics may be helped by an
in�ux of relatively young, highly motivated, mostly well-educated �eeing Syrians. Guntram Wolff, in the Financial
Times, recently drew a historical comparison with a 17th Century in�ux of French protestant refugees into the state of Brandenburg, who brought in with them skills and dynamism. Employers rejoice at the thought of more
workers, putting downward pressure on wage costs, while macroeconomists try to calculate the �scal costs to the
welfare system in relation to the economic bene�ts from a boost in aggregate demand.
This cynical cost-bene�t analysis misses the point, however. That there are bene�ts from immigration is beyond
dispute – except by racists. Host countries (with the United States, Canada and Australia offering living examples)
are the ones enjoying enormous net bene�ts, while the countries abandoned by their people suffer. But this is true
for all aging Central and North Eastern European nations. Why is it only Germany and its people that took
enthusiastically to welcoming refugees? The answer, clearly, has nothing to do with economics. If there are positive
economic repercussions, these are mere byproducts of some other type of motivation that made Germans open their
borders and hearts to the refugees. What might it be?
Students of philosophy may be tempted, as I am, to seek the answer in one of Germany’s grandest gifts to humanity:
the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Unlike economists and Anglo-Celtic philosophers, Kant is not satis�ed with
instrumental accounts of what it means to act rationally. Such accounts are �ne for cats and sophisticated robots.
But not for humans. Humans must have a capacity for moral reasoning that is, nevertheless, the result not of dogma
but of pure Reason.
Kant’s practical Reason demands that we should undertake those actions which, when generalised,
yield coherent outcomes. For example, lying cannot be a rational choice because, if universalised, if everyone were to
lie all the time, trust in what others say would disappear and language would lose its coherence. True enough, many
people refrain from lying because of the fear that they will be found out. But Kant does not consider such
instrumental reasons for not lying as fully rational. In his mindset, the rational and the moral merge when we develop
a capacity to act on the so-called categorical imperative: of acting in a universalisable manner independently of the
consequences. For the hell of it, in plainer language.
Taking refugees in is such a universalisable act. You do not take them in because of what you expect to gain. The fact
that you may end up with great gains is irrelevant. The warm inner glow of having done the ‘right’ thing, the boost to
aggregate demand, the effect on productivity – all these are great repercussions of one’s Kantian rationality. They
9/28/21, 10:03 AM The Refugee Crisis, Immanuel Kant And Germany’s Moral Leadership
https://socialeurope.eu/the-refugee-crisis-immanuel-kant-and-germanys-moral-leadership 3/4
are not, however, the motivation. One’s rational acts, according to Kant, are not to be determined by expected gain,
that instrumental ‘utility’ that depends on what others do and on a number of contingencies. There is no strategy
here. Just the application of the deontological reasoning which requires
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