Philosophy of the Human Person
Uploaded by CaseyP on Oct 13, 2018
Surname
Instructor
Course
Date
Philosophy of Human Person
Humanity is a word used to the humankind for being ‘humane’ with wisdom and humility which is gained through the activation of mind and its creation of cultural ways of living in time and space. Humanity is not just being aware of humans when one can do something to them especially when basic humanity is being dismantled or damaged by any situation. The reason why one should not destroy humanity is that one’s consciousness automatically endows him or her with the notion of morality. It gives one a sense of what’s wrong and what’s right. The world would be insignificant without morality. However, humans cannot deny the existence of morality, and therefore one cannot justify destroying a fellow human. Morality is one thing that sets humans apart from animals.
Meaning of Humanity as an “end in itself” and Kant’s Argument
For one to be regarded as humane, he or she has to reason practically and with a moral view. Kant went ahead to argue that if a morally practical person can evaluate and assess himself or herself with his fellow rational beings depending on how he or she treats other beings. Based on equality assessment one can value himself depending on standards. The standards can be low, neutral or high. The criteria that one considers in the evaluation process include assessing one’s sensibility as a being and also checking on his or her moral predisposition.
Kant went ahead to argue that human beings must pursue their end which is a duty to every being. When doing this duty, one is not expected to take part in moral arrogance. Instead, he or she has to be conscious of other people’s morals and its significance. He went ahead to claim that practicing false humility is not our end duty. False humility is the act of trying to equalize our moral self with other human beings.
One has to practice true humility to make this world a better place. True humility deals with humans relating directly to the moral laws and its principles. Kant went ahead to list the end duty examples which consider the dignity of the entire humans amongst themselves. These dignifying acts included practicing empathy, being kind and compassionate, respecting others and being morally upright. Humanity should not have people with aggressive behaviors, who ignore the sufferings of the less fortunate, abuse or lack compassion for others.
Justifications
Kant’s argument...