Question 1

According to Kant, "Virtue, however, is not to be defined and esteemed merely as ______, and as a long custom acquired by practice of morally good actions."

Accepted Answer

Kant argues that virtue is not merely a habit formed from practicing morally good actions, but something more intrinsic to the moral character of an individual.

Question 2

According to Kant, "The notion of will is in itself already the notion of a constraint of the free elective will by the law; whether this constraint be an external one or be self-constraint."

Accepted Answer

Kant's philosophy actually posits that the moral law does not constrain the will externally but is a form of self-imposed legislation, reflecting the autonomy of the will. The will is free and moral action arises from following the self-imposed moral law, not from external constraints.

Question 3

According to Kant, "as man is a free (moral) being, the notion of duty can contain only self-constraint (by the idea of the law itself), when we look to the internal determination of the will (the spring), for thus only is it possible to combine that constraint (even if it were external) with the freedom of the elective will. The notion of duty then must be an ethical one."

Accepted Answer

According to Kant, the notion of duty contains self-constraint by the idea of the law itself for the internal determination of the will to combine constraint with freedom of the elective will, making it an ethical notion.

Question 4

Kant says, "The impulses of nature, then, contain hindrances to the fulfilment of duty in the mind of man, and resisting forces, some of them powerful; and he must judge himself able to combat these and to conquer them by means of punishment."

Accepted Answer

Kant argues that moral duty is determined by rationality and the categorical imperative, not by impulses of nature or external forces. He emphasizes the role of reason in overcoming inclinations, not punishment.

Question 5

Kant says, "the power and resolved purpose to resist a strong but unjust opponent is called fortitude."

Accepted Answer

This statement accurately reflects Kant's views on fortitude. Kant sees fortitude as the ability to resist unjust opposition with strength and resolve.

Question 6

According to Kant, "ethics may also be defined as the system of the ends of spiritual aspect of mind."

Accepted Answer

Kant defined ethics as "the science of the principles of our actions to the extent that they can be deduced from pure reasons and without regard to the various conditions of human nature." He did not define ethics as "the system of the ends of spiritual aspect of mind."

Question 7

Kant says, "The two parts of moral philosophy are distinguished as treating respectively of ends and of duties of constraint."

Accepted Answer

Kant's moral philosophy is based on the idea of duty and the categorical imperative. According to him, the first part of moral philosophy deals with ends or goals that we aim at, while the second part deals with the duties of constraint, i.e., the constraints that we must follow to achieve those ends. Therefore, the statement is true.

Question 8

According to Kant, "There is in fact no other determination of the basic instinct, except that to an end, which in the very notion of it implies that I cannot even physically be forced to it by the elective will of others."

Accepted Answer

Kant's philosophy emphasizes autonomy and the idea that moral actions are determined by rationality and the categorical imperative, not by external forces or desires. The quote does not accurately reflect Kant's views on autonomy and moral decision-making.

Question 9

According to Kant, "in ethics the notion of duty must lead to ends, and must on moral principles give the foundation of maxims with respect to the ends which we ought to propose to ourselves."

Accepted Answer

Kant believed that duty is essential in ethics, but it must also be guided by a sense of what our ultimate ends or goals are. We must use our moral principles to establish maxims or rules for pursuing those ends.

Question 10

According to Kant, "Virtue, however, is not to be defined and esteemed merely as habit, and as a long custom acquired by practice of morally good actions."

Accepted Answer

Kant believed that virtue cannot simply be reduced to a habit or a result of repeated actions, but should be based on a person's moral intention and duty to act in accordance with universal moral laws.

Question 11

Explain what Kant means when he says, "The notion of duty is in itself already the notion of a constraint of the free elective will by the law; whether this constraint be an external one or be self-constraint."

Accepted Answer