Consequences of the action

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Reference no: EM1378705

Kant's ethics relies upon the intent of an action as solely determinate of its moral worth, regardless of the consequences of the action. Consider the following thought experiment in these terms.

(1) A child is drowning in the lake. A stranger jumps into save the child. He succeeds in saving the childâ?"but the reason that he jumped in to get the child was not to save the childâ?"but rather to be seen as heroic to his girlfriend, with whom he was lunching by the lake.

(2) A child is drowning in the lake. A stranger jumps into save the child. But he's not as good a swimmer as he had thought. In his frantic state, he attempts to reach out to the child and submerges him or her. While he jumped in with the intent of saving the child, he fails to do soâ?"and instead only succeeds in pulling the child's lifeless body from the water.

The first case seems to have the right consequences, but the wrong moral intent. The second case has the right intent, but a poor outcome.
(A) What would Kant say about case #1? Is it a moral act? Why or why not?
(B) Do you agree or disagree with what Kant would say about case #1? If so, why or why not?
(C) What would Kant say about case #2? Is it a moral act? Why or why not?
(D) Do you agree or disagree with what Kant would say about case #2? If so, why or why not?

Reference no: EM1378705

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