Duty and Morality in Kant’s Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals :: Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals

This selection is only the first section of Immanuel Kant’s Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. I am only going to discuss duty and morality. Kant gives three propositions regarding duty (p.107). Kant argues that the will that acts from reason is the will guided by duty. The first proposition helps us distinguish which actions have moral worth by differentiating acts that are motivated because of duty and acts that are not. Kant shows the differences using a few examples, the first is a salesman who does not overcharge a customer even if he knows they are inexperienced, but the salesman’s reasoning behind this is that he doesn’t want to tarnish his reputation if he were to get caught overcharging an inexperienced customer. Kant says this is not because of morals, because the salesman was not motivated by duty to treat the customer fairly. The second proposition is â€Å"an action done from duty has its moral worth, not in the purpose that is to be attained by it, but in the maxim according to which the action is determined.†(p.107). This meaning that an action is morally good if the motivating forces behind the decision to make that action are good. The third proposition is a combination of the first two, stated, as â€Å"Duty is the necessity of an action done out of respect for the law.†(p.107). Kant thinks you must respect the law. The law is the only thing â€Å"which can determine the will except objectively the law.†(p.108). So because the law can be objective, even if you are inclined to break it, you should not. Duty and reason often conflict for an individual. An example that Kant uses is lying. When you lie, you expect that other people will believe your lie, you believe this because the universal law is that you should be truthful. In this situation you have expected that the universal law you should live by is to be truthful, but you have also decided that you are going to allow yourself to make an exception to this universal law and lie.

Themes in Tale of Two Cities

?Throughout Charles Dickens Tale of Two cities, a few different themes can be easily spotted. The biggest prevailing theme in the book would have to be the 99% vs the 1% elite. This is when the poor oppressed people have had enough of the wealthy elite controlling them, and they ban together and rise up against it. In desperate times like revolution, you often find two or more unexpected partners, or allies. It is almost as if the revolution and uprising causes some bond between the people revolting, giving them extreme focus and teamwork.In normal circumstances, you might expect a woman like Madame’ Defarge to be a quiet mellow woman, but get her in a revolution and she turns in to a fiery death machine. Themes like these can still be spotted today, and most of the same rules apply. One example in the most is the revolution and rebellion in Syria. This is virtually a near exact modern example of something that Charles Dickens wrote in Tale of Two Cities 100 years ago. This pr oves the themes, and subplots found in his books are just as real today, as they were back then. Syrian people where being horribly mistreated, to the point of thousands dying.You could draw a parallel between Syria’s leader Assad and the Marquis in St. Antoine. Both these leaders oppressed the people, and did nothing to stop widespread poverty and hunger, while still pretending everything in the country is perfect. This makes it clear that evil leaders, and tyrants will always be the same; they are blind to the trouble they cause. Throughout the theme of social oppression, it also brings you to recognize the strong family links and ties within the book. It focuses strongly on the different links within the family, while the opposing family is trying hard to break that link.While we may not see families killing each other nowadays, some relevance to it can still be seen. One example is the strong link between Darnay and Lucie loving each other so dearly, while her dad is utte rly shocked she is married to a man that helped throw him in prison. Things like this are still found today, and it isn’t uncommon to hear about fights between in-laws. People still tend to hold grudges from the past and cause it to affect their opinions and decisions in the future, much like the theme in Tale of Two Cities.So all in all, it can be said there is definite evidence of themes Charles Dickens wrote about, in the modern world. The reason for this is that the mentality of people often doesn’t change much over time. A tyrant leader will always be a tyrant, and angry in-laws will always be angry in-laws. This is simply the human nature, and it likely won’t fade anytime too soon. While we might not go physically cutting people’s heads of, Charles Dickens theme of social injustice is very relevant today. Themes in Tale of Two Cities Throughout Charles Dickens Tale of Two cities, a few different themes can be easily spotted. The biggest prevailing theme in the book would have to be the 99% vs the 1% elite. This is when the poor oppressed people have had enough of the wealthy elite controlling them, and they ban together and rise up against it. In desperate times like revolution, you often find two or more unexpected partners, or allies. It is almost as if the revolution and uprising causes some bond between the people revolting, giving them extreme focus and teamwork.In normal circumstances, you might expect a woman like Madame’ Defarge to be a quiet mellow woman, but get her in a revolution and she turns in to a fiery death machine. Themes like these can still be spotted today, and most of the same rules apply. One example in the most is the revolution and rebellion in Syria. This is virtually a near exact modern example of something that Charles Dickens wrote in Tale of Two Cities 100 years ago. This pro ves the themes, and subplots found in his books are just as real today, as they were back then. Syrian people where being horribly mistreated, to the point of thousands dying.You could draw a parallel between Syria’s leader Assad and the Marquis in St. Antoine. Both these leaders oppressed the people, and did nothing to stop widespread poverty and hunger, while still pretending everything in the country is perfect. This makes it clear that evil leaders, and tyrants will always be the same; they are blind to the trouble they cause. Throughout the theme of social oppression, it also brings you to recognize the strong family links and ties within the book. It focuses strongly on the different links within the family, while the opposing family is trying hard to break that link.While we may not see families killing each other nowadays, some relevance to it can still be seen. One example is the strong link between Darnay and Lucie loving each other so dearly, while her dad is utter ly shocked she is married to a man that helped throw him in prison. Things like this are still found today, and it isn’t uncommon to hear about fights between in-laws. People still tend to hold grudges from the past and cause it to affect their opinions and decisions in the future, much like the theme in Tale of Two Cities.So all in all, it can be said there is definite evidence of themes Charles Dickens wrote about, in the modern world. The reason for this is that the mentality of people often doesn’t change much over time. A tyrant leader will always be a tyrant, and angry in-laws will always be angry in-laws. This is simply the human nature, and it likely won’t fade anytime too soon. While we might not go physically cutting people’s heads of, Charles Dickens theme of social injustice is very relevant today.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - 948 Words

Maya Angelou is a poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her many poetry and essay collections. So many things happen to Maya Angelou but she was amazing and a brave woman too not everyone would be same after what happen to her. Maya Angelou has become the most amazing singer, dancer, actress, poet and writer she is even an author of autobiography â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings† a book that tells the things that setback and helped Maya to be who she is now. She had a lot of the events in her life that s helped and setback her life, this was part of her life now. The set setback that made a lot of impact in her life was, what helped her was when miss flower started teaching her literature. So the teacher that helped her is Miss Bertha flowers she helped Maya to talk again so she encouraged her into an interest in literature. Maya setbacks was her being raped by Mr. Freeman. This is a set back because she was very young for this to happen to her so she did not know how to handle it. She was thinking this man cared for her making her to sit on his lapped she thought it was okay now someone care for her. She lied in court being doing this because she thought they hate her she was wrong. When she was raped by Mr. Freeman at aged seven, this one was the worst because it was too traumatic for Chirah 2 A child to express. Maya was a girl who felt unwanted and lost by her own family then she met Mr. Freeman a man who caredShow MoreRelatedI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1482 Words   |  6 Pages Maya Angelou tells of her life experiences and struggles in her book â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings† that gives us insight about Maya’s life as a young black girl growing up in a time of racism. The novel discusses various forms of oppression that she had to face as well cope with them. Robert A. Gross wrote an analysis for Newsweek about the book and claimed that Angelou’s book is not only an interesting story of her own experience, but also a portrayal of a Southern black communityRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1555 Words   |  7 Pages28th of May 2014, she was an Activist, acclaimed American poet, storyteller and autobiographer. However, all her accomplishments were born out of abuse, violence, neglect and pain, that she wrote about in her autobiographical novel, I know why the caged bird sings which was published in 1969. In the book, she wrote not only about the conflicts that plagued her for much of her life but also how the role they played in her life. 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Not only was Maya Angelou able to overcome all the racial discriminations and interferences that she endured growing up, she was also able to prove to many people what a successful African American author and activist she was. She was a womanRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings2695 Words   |  11 Pages I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings According to Willard Scott, â€Å"Positive Feelings come from being honest about yourself and accepting your personality, and physical characteristics, warts and all; and, from belonging to a family that accepts you without question.† Maya Angelou illustrates this in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography on herself. It illustrates Maya Angelou’s struggles of accepting herself because of some cruel experiences in her life. Maya was an African American girlRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pagesministry. She wrought a best-selling auto biography â€Å"I know why the caged bird sings†. 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Not only was sheRead MoreEssay on I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1319 Words   |  6 Pagesstreet cars 5) Key Statements About the Character amp;nbsp;a) â€Å"Ritie, don’t worry ‘cause you ain’t pretty. Plenty of pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than a cute behind.† (p.56) amp;nbsp;b) â€Å"In those moments I decided that although Baily loved me he couldn’t help. †¦ I knew that because I loved him so much I could never hurt him† (p. 73) 6) Key Actions amp;nbsp;a) Father comes to Stamps and takes them to their mother amp;nbsp;b) MovesRead MoreEssay on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings1048 Words   |  5 Pagescontribute to the way she grows up and the person she becomes. Despite some of her tragic circumstances, she learns a lot growing up, mainly because of the African-American women in her life who teach her all different life lessons. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Marguerite gets to absorb teachings from her mother (Vivian), Mrs. Bertha Flowers, and her grandmother (Momma). These women allow Marguerite to learn and grow as an African-American female, all while paving her own way. MargueriteRead More I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Essay730 Words   |  3 Pages Three primary problems â€Å"cage† Maya Angelou in her autobiographical book I Know why the Caged Bird Sings. The most pressing of these issues was probably the fact that Maya lived in the highly segregated south. Another factor of her imprisonment was because Maya, also known as Marguerite, was a social outcast, with very few friends other then relatives. Finally, the main character was entrapped because of her unusual sexual exposure. Over all, the highly segregated life she led, her exclusion socially