The Respect-for-Persons Principle

Kant

“Always act so that you treat the humanity in a person, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only.”

Why Humans are entitled to respect? 

In his second categorical imperative*, Kant asserted and gave an elaborate argument as to why “human beings are entitled to respect.” Human beings ought to be respected because human beings have dignity. For Kant, an object that has dignity is beyond price.    

The question that needs to be answered is: Why do persons possess a dignity that is beyond all price?

Human beings have dignity* because they are capable of autonomy* and, thus, are capable of self-governance. As autonomous beings capable of self-governance, they are also responsible beings since autonomy and self-governance are conditions for responsibility. A person who is not autonomous and who is not capable of self-governance is not responsible. Thus, there is a conceptual link between being a human being, being autonomous, capable of self-governance, and being responsible. 

Autonomous responsible beings are capable of making and following their own laws; they are not simply subject to the causal laws of nature. Anyone who recognises that they are autonomous should recognise that they are responsible for their actions, and this should recognise that they are a moral being. (autonomy = self-governance = making & following one’s rules = being responsible for choices made = moral being) 

In simple words, a moral being is an individual who is autonomous enough to make rational choices (without any external influence). 

Turning to the above categorical imperative, when Kant says that we should not treat people “merely as means,” he is saying that we should not use, exploit, or manipulate people. Further, when he (Kant) says that we should treat others as “ends in themselves,” Kant is saying that we should RESPECT people. We should, for example, allow them to make up their own minds about what to do, as opposed to trying to make their choices for them. An important idea of Kantian ethics is the emphasis on the duty of respecting humans as moral beings.

*Dignity: Dignity concerns how people feel, think and behave in relation to the worth or value of themselves and others. To treat someone with dignity is to treat them as being of worth in a way that is respectful of them as valued individuals. When dignity is present, people feel valued, confident, comfortable and be able to make decisions for themselves. When dignity is absent, people feel devalued, humiliated or ashamed. Everyone has equal worth as human beings and must be treated as if they are able to feel, think, and behave in relation to their own worth or value.   

*Categorical Imperative: An imperative is a command or duty; “categorical” means that it is without exception. Thus, a categorical imperative is an overriding principle of ethics. Kant offered several formulations of the categorical imperative: act so as the maxim implicit in your acts could be willed to be a universal law; treat persons as ends and never as means only; treat others as subjects, not objects.

*Autonomy: From the Greek for “self-ruled,” autonomy is the capacity to make free and deliberate choices. The ability for autonomous action is what explains the inherent dignity and intrinsic value of individual human beings.

*Means & Ends: Philosophers often contrast means & ends. The ends we seek are the goals we try to achieve, and the means are the actions or things we use to accomplish those ends.

Conscience + Acts of Conscience

What is conscience? 

Bishop Joseph Butler (1692-1752), in his famous Sermons, said of conscience that it was a “principle in man” by which he approves or disapproves his attitudes and actions. He further added that this faculty tends to restrain people from doing “mischief” and incline them toward doing good. 

While dictionary (Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary) defines conscience as “the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action.”

In simple words, conscience refers to “subjective awareness of the moral quality of one’s action.”

Awareness of the moral quality of one’s actions involves two aspects:

• The awareness of an act 
• The awareness of one’s values as exemplified by the act 

Conscience is subjective awareness because:

People differ significantly about the degree and extent of their awareness of the moral qualities of their actions, just as people differ regarding the degree and extent to which they are self-aware in general. 

Some are “hyper aware” of the moral quality of their actions; therefore, they tend to be very “scrupulous” and diligent in making decisions and performing any action. The opposite condition is one of a “lax” person who consistently fails to concern themselves with the morality of their actions. Morally scrupulous individuals are often morally conscientious, while lax individuals can be prone to weak moral will.      

Acts of Conscience 

The acts of a person’s conscience have traditionally been divided into 4 types:

• Act of command, whereby one senses that an act is to be done
• Act of forbidding, whereby one senses that an act is not to be done
• Act of permitting, in which one regards an act as allowed by one’s moral values 
• Act of advising in which one is aware that an act is either probably better to do or probably worse to do (the act is not sensed as being strictly required or forbidden.) 

Good & Bad Conscience 

Good conscience refers to the state of mind characterized by peace, self-contentment and ease because the person’s actions are in harmony with the dictates of conscience. At the same time, bad conscience reflects a state of mind characterized by apprehension, anxiety and unease because the actions violate the dictates of conscience or are not in sync with one’s moral values.       

*“Conscience” does not refer to evaluations of other people’s acts. 

Some important quotes on conscience 

“There is…at the bottom of our hearts an innate principle of justice and virtue, by which in spite of our maxims, we judge our own actions…to be good or evil; and it is this principle that I call conscience. Rousseau, Emile

“Conscience is the representative within us of the divine judgement-seat: it weighs our dispositions and actions in the scales of law which is holy and pure; we cannot deceive it, and lastly, we cannot escape it because, like the divine omnipresence, it is always with us.” Kant Lectures on Ethics  “It is not because men’s desires are strong that they act ill; it is because their conscience are weak.” Mill, On Liberty

Ethics of Reverence for Life

Albert Schweitzer, a Nobel Peace Prize (1952) awardee, was a missionary, theologian, humanitarian and philosopher who believed in “ethics of reverence for life.”  

Schweitzer reasoned that the morality of man should extend to the entire creation of the universe and those relationships should be both deepened and widened. He also believed that all humans should live a portion of their lives for others. His ethics embraced not only humans but also all living creatures. 

Schweitzer summarized reverence of life ethic:

“Man’s ethics must not end with man, but should extend to the universe. He must regain the consciousness of the great chain of life from which he cannot be separated. He must understand that all creation has its value. Life should only be negated when it is for a higher value and purpose- not merely for selfish or thoughtless actions. What then results for man is not only a deepening of relationships, but a widening of relationships.”     

Schweitzer recognised reverence for life as an absolute ethic and this doesn’t mean that this has to be applied absolutely in every situation. He saw the reverence for life ethic as a goal, an ideal, for which we humans must work to. 

“It [reverence for life] cannot be completely achieved; but that fact does not really matter. In this sense, reverence for life is an absolute ethic. It does not lay down specific rules for each possible situation. It simply tells us that we are responsible for the lives about us.” 

He further stated:

“True, in practice we are forced to choose. At times we have to decide arbitrarily which forms of life, and even which particular individuals, we shall save, and which we shall destroy. But the principle of reverence of life is universal.”       

Reverence for life means that all life is valuable and important, and that no life should be sacrificed without compassionate consideration of the life lost compared to the greater good that sacrifice may yield. Further, reverence of life implies that though life may be lost, it should never be sacrificed in a callous manner, and that an act of potential harm should be committed only after determining that the potential greater good exceeds the harm that occurs from loss of life.  

Some defining characteristics of ethics of reverence for life:

• This ethics is rational because it is developed as a result of thinking about life
• This ethics is absolute 
• The ethics of reverence for life is universal insofar as it applies to all living beings: “In no instance we can say of life: ‘This has no value’.”

To conclude in Schweitzer’s own words:“Once man begins to think about the mystery of his life and the links connecting him with the life that fills the world, he cannot but accept, for his own life and all other that surrounds him, the principle of reverence for life. He will act according to this principle of the ethical affirmation of life in everything he does…. It [Life] will become, instead of mere living, a genuine experience in life.”    

VIRTUE OF BENEVOLENCE

Morality requires us to act for the good of others. And this disposition to do good deeds is fundamental to the ideas of Thomas Aquinas, David Hume, Schopenhauer and others. At the same time, ethical egoists, Nietzsche and some others did not have much faith in the idea of benevolence as a source of moral motivation. 

Kant explicitly warned against relying on benevolence as a source of ethical motivation because, like other feelings, it is unpredictable and erratic. Kant denies the importance of benevolence partly because he believes that ethics requires that reason should dominate over feelings. Those who give benevolence a vital place in ethics do so on the ground that the ultimate source of ethics is feelings, and the role of reason is merely to prevent emotions from running amok.            

Benevolence consists of emotive, cognitive, and motivational elements. Among the three, the emotional element dominates because the fundamental source of benevolence is the feeling that leads individuals to care about the good of others. It is just a fact about human beings that they are inclined to care about the welfare of others. But benevolent feelings need to be controlled and directed, and that is the task of the cognitive component. It directs the feelings toward appropriate objects, and it controls the actions benevolence prompts. The last is the motivational component that drives the disposition to act to increase the welfare or decrease the sufferings of others. 

Hume believed benevolence to be a natural virtue, as to be benevolent is one of the essential elements of human nature. 

Michael W. Martin, in his book Everyday Morality: An Introduction to Applied Ethics, observes, “Hume makes [benevolence] the supreme virtue, and of all virtue ethicists, Hume most deserves to be called the philosopher of benevolence.” 

From a political and public policy perspective, the welfare state institutionalizes benevolence by launching state-sponsored programs such as mid-day meals, maternity benefits, etc. 

In short, benevolence is an intentional disposition to perform good deeds or charitable acts.

Some notable quotes on benevolence:

“No quality of human nature is more remarkable, both in itself and in its consequences, than that propensity we have to sympathize with others.”   

David Hume

“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interests. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities but of their advantages.” Adam Smith   

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” Martin Luther King Jr.   

“The term [benevolence] stands for a positive reaction to other people’s desire and satisfactions, which the benevolent person has only because they are the desires and satisfactions of others.” Bernard Williams, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy   

UPSC GS IV. 

Virtue Ethics, Contributions of Moral Thinkers & Philosophers   

Origin of International Women’s Day, how it all started?

The past few years has seen a significant rise in the way 8th of March is celebrated. There are quotes by important women in history being circulated on social media, women and men wishing all the women in their life a “Happy Women’s Day!” Some workplaces even go to the extent of having a day filled with events and activities to honour and celebrate the women of their office. Little do people understand that this international day has important cultural and political implications with respect to women, the struggles they go through in the various areas of life, especially those that make up 55% of the workforce.  

It was a cold Sunday afternoon on 8th March in 1857 when a courageous group of ladies who were employed with a garment company marched and picketed demanding for shorter working hours, better pay, improved working conditions and equal rights for women. They were courageous because they knew that how they were treated was wrong and stood up for themselves. They had no idea that they set a course for millions of women in the coming century to demand for their basic working rights. 

Fifty one years later, this incident inspired 15,000 women in the needle trade from New York to march demanding their equal right to vote, honouring the women who marched in 1857. This came to be known as the start of the Women’s Suffrage movement. The slogan “Bread and Roses” became popular during the march signifying the need for economic security and better standards of living. 

This had a domino effect around the world and women across nations began observing a march in their countries in the coming years. In a world where labour struggles were monopolised by men where they had the “right” to fight for what they wanted, the Women’s Marches around the world proved to be a voice unheard of until now. 

Since then, what started out in the USA has reached global recognition and March 8th has been adopted by the United Nations as International Women’s Day. It is celebrated as a holiday to create awareness and bring to light not just labour struggles of women but struggles of women from all walks of life. 

The millennium has given this holiday a dimension where IWD now encompasses all genders that go through struggles of survival in today’s world to bring to light their existence and need for sensitisation. 

This year, the theme for March 8th is “Gender Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” What are your thoughts on this? Share them in the comments below!