Summary
The book “Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals” by Emanuel Kant establishes the supreme principle of morality. According to Kant, goodwill does not have limitations (27). This description implies that people should wish for understanding, with the power of judgment and similar mental abilities. For instance, Kant argues that although moderation in passions, self-control, and sober reflection are desirable in achieving many aims, they have limitations (28). Kant used this justification to affirm the need for people to move from rational moral cognition and embrace philosophical, ethical reasoning to promote goodwill. Thus, Kant regards moral ethics as fundamental in enabling people to promote goodwill.
In addition, Kant describes the doctrine of virtues, which concerns our inner freedom and ethical duties of humans to themselves and others. Kant used the doctrine of virtues to describe ethical duties as the ends (191). From this perspective, Kant describes moral life as the process where people devote themselves to specific ends. According to Kant, the ends people should pursue must guide morality (191). Kant explains that people should focus on something other than maximizing the expected outcomes from their decisions. Instead, Kant argues that people should focus on ensuring that achieving them is ethical.
Restatement of Argument
Kant considers the moral perspective as the process people should embrace to make the most suitable decisions when considering the underlying circumstances. Based on Kant’s arguments to justify the doctrine of virtues, people should consider their expected outcomes before deciding the most appropriate process or steps to achieve them. Therefore, Kant considers human beings as having inner freedom and moral duties to themselves and others.
Thesis
Although Kant’s perspective on moral ethics compels people to make ethical considerations toward other people’s needs, it is not applicable in explaining how cultural appreciation exists in contemporary society.
Context
Kant’s book on the metaphysics of morals relates to how people consider diverse cultural values. For instance, Kant argues that enforceable rights of other people and specific relationships determine the ends and maxims of people’s choices (191). This observation implies that people must consider the factors that affect others before deciding on the ethical processes of achieving their desires and goals. Kant’s doctrine of virtue requires every individual to consider other people’s cultural views and concerns, which makes it relevant to the current context of cultural appropriation and appreciation. Therefore, Kant’s book is only suitable in justifying how people may regard cultural diversity without seeking a more profound understanding that can lead to respecting such ways of life.
Argument
Kant’s doctrine of virtue fails to provide practical means to encourage people to move from cultural appropriation to appreciation. According to Cattien and Stopford, cultural appreciation allows people to value diversity without embracing it as their way of life (1062). This process leads to multiethnic thoughts toward people’s cultures and mutual respect, irrespective of the differences that people may exhibit. According to Kant, the expected results should guide people’s decisions regarding their colleagues (191). This observation implies that people should use their intended results to establish relationships with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Such approaches suggest that people should only embrace inclusive perspectives for their convenience. Therefore, Kant’s doctrine of morality contains premises that guide people in making ethical decisions to acknowledge other people’s cultures during specific situations.
In addition, one must consider family, friendship, and professional relationships when making important decisions on cultural appreciation. According to Cruz et al., cultural appreciation involves consuming diverse cultural values (963). People acknowledge cultural differences through the moral judgment of human diversity. In this case, people must learn about certain cultures to gain the ability to tolerate and promote them. Cultural appreciation involves understanding another culture’s elements as an acceptable process of social diffusion and blending in a multiethnic society (Cruz et al. 963). This observation does not align with Kant’s theory, where people have an inner freedom and ethical obligation to make acceptable choices that align with their needs and those of others. Instead, cultural appreciation requires people to develop a stronger sense of acceptance of a different culture as appropriate and fundamental to those who practice it as a way of life. Cruz et al. maintain that people have a moral obligation to embrace the adaptive construction of their identities to respond to a systematically uncertain social world (963). This observation suggests that people have a responsibility to learn other cultural values and adapt their beliefs and views to accommodate multiethnicity. This description of cultural appreciation is more detailed than what Kant describes in his morality doctrine.
Finally, Kant’s view on the implication of molarity only applies to the concept of cultural appreciation. For instance, Kant perceived humans as autonomous agents that cannot realize happiness through morality (Kant 109). This observation implies that people do not engage in moral actions to realize happiness. Instead, Kant regards morality as the inevitable factor that humans must embrace for convenience. However, humans engage in reflexive reconfiguration to the social world as they adapt to their immediate social world (Cruz et al. 963). This process of cultural appreciation ensures that humans achieve ultimate happiness and satisfaction in their social environments. Thus, Kant’s theory seems to overlook the happiness that humans achieve by making ethical decisions on cultural appreciation.
Works Cited
Cattien, Jana, and Richard John Stopford. “The Appropriating Subject: Cultural Appreciation, Property and Entitlement.” Philosophy & Social Criticism, vol. 49, no. 9, 2 Mar. 2022, pp. 1061–1078, doi:10.1177/01914537211059515.
Cruz, Angela Gracia B, et al. “Between Cultural Appreciation and Cultural Appropriation: Self-Uthorizing the Consumption of Cultural Difference.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 50, no. 5, 3 Apr. 2023, pp. 962–984, doi:10.1093/jcr/ucad022.
Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. S.L., Oxford University Press, 1785.
write