Kant and Mill

KANT VS . MILL

2007

This intends to look into the major differences , similarities , as well as , criticisms for Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill 's theories or ethical systems

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was born in April 1724 to a craftsman named Johann George Kant and Anna Regina Porter (Bennagen , 2000 . He was trained more in Latin and Religion subjects as compared with science and mathematics consequently forming his concepts and ideas with regards to moral philosophy technically referred to as `deontology ' which actually reiterates that an act should

only be carried out based on the an individuals ' responsibilities (Bennagen , 2000

John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill was born in May 1906 to Harriet Barrow and a well known philosopher , James Mill (Bennagen , 2000 . Being exposed to Greek when he was only three years old , Latin when he was eight , he was extremely brilliant , so intelligent that he acquired Greek Literature Philosophy , Chemistry , Botany , Psychology and law before he turned eighteen years old (Bennagen , 2000

Furthermore , he is accountable for systematically putting together the utilitarian thoughts /concepts /ideas of his father and his father 's friend Jeremy Bentham (Bennagen , 2000 . This is where Jeremy Bentham argues and reiterates that actions are correct only if they are inclined to bring into being the utmost happiness for the greatest number of people (Bennagen , 2000 . This is simply because advocates of utilitarianism believe that happiness is the main criteria for doing something right or wrong , meaning if something is done and pleasure resulted from it then it is right , however , if pain was brought about from it then surely , it is wrong (Bennagen , 2000

Major Similarities in their Ethical System

Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill ' ethical systems have similarities and these are the following

In act utilitarianism , laws are not taken into consideration as long as the act is said to have brought about happiness to most individuals then it is right (Bennagen , 2000 . The same is true with deontology wherein duty is the basis for a right act which means that even if it means breaking the law just as long as the responsibility is fulfilled then the act is definitely right (Bennagen , 2000

In addition , both cannot always be utilized as a guide to morals (Bennagen , 2000 . There are several cases where a decision made based on utilitarianism or deontology fails (Bennagen , 2000

Major Differences in their Ethical System

There are differences between the ethical systems of Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill and some of these are the following

In terms of goal , Immanuel Kant 's deontological theory 's goal is to fulfill a certain duty , whereas , John Stuart Mill 's utilitarianism 's goal is to achieve happiness (Bennagen , 2000 . This is clearly evident in the definition of the deontological theory which says that individuals ought to stick to their responsibilities in evaluating a moral quandary (Bennagen , 2000 . Same is true with the technical definition of utilitarianism where it states that , in an assessment of an ethical issue...