Justice: Whats The Right Thing To Do Episode 06: MIND YOUR MOTIVE

PART ONE: MIND YOUR MOTIVE Professor Sandel introduces Immanuel Kant, a challenging but influential philosopher. Kant rejects utilitarianism. He argues that each of us has certain fundamental duties and rights that take precedence over maximizing utility. Kant rejects the notion that morality is about calculating consequences. When we act out of dutydoing something simply because it is rightonly then do our actions have moral worth. Kant gives the example of a shopkeeper who passes up the chance to shortchange a customer only because his business might suffer if other customers found out. According to Kant, the shopkeepers action has no moral worth, because he did the right thing for the wrong reason. PART TWO: THE SUPREME PRINCIPLE OF MORALITY Immanuel Kant says that insofar as our actions have moral worth, what confers moral worth is our capacity to rise above selfinterest and inclination and to act out of duty. Sandel tells the true story of a thirteenyear old boy who won a spe