This week we move on to consider Kantian ethics, which offers a different account of ethics than relativism, virtue ethics, utilitarianism, and natural rights (but still has its own problems). This is chapter 7 in Boyd & Thorsen Christian Ethics and Moral Philosophy. You should read this as well as the link to the texts by Kant himself. You should also view the Tedtalk video by Bryan Stevenson. We will also be looking at two applied issues this week: racism and capital punishment. Although I am not an expert on punishment or racism, I have - over the period of 7 years-worked in the prison systems in both Illinois and Missouri. They are not good places and people there are not going to prison to improve their lives or - as I have heard some people say - "to get 3 free meals a day." As always, humility in how we approach these issues is always warranted. It's a good idea to use phrases like, "As far as I understand this...." "I may be wrong but..." Or "I'm not an expert on this, but it appears to me...." These remarks help keep us humble and open to view: other than our own. Also, continue to think about how the various ideas of "justice" apply in these two different context. 1. Kant says that we are always to treat persons as 'ends in themselves. What does he mean by this and and can you think of of how you might do this in a practical situation? 2. If you had to resolve the "lying to the inquiring murderer' problem how would you resolve it? Is it always wrong to lie? How might this compare to the Trolley Problem in terms of balancing results with duties? 3. Which theory of punishment do you think is the right one- and why? (Be sure to briefly summarize the view.) Your: - first post - second post 2 Posts must be a minimum of 200 words). summarize or quote (no more than 2 sentences in your posts) from the texts. -

Fig: 1