Philosophy
I've been fascinated by the way in which hotels now play up the fact that they send in folks to freshen up rooms less frequently as something that has environmentally friendly effects. By using less water and energy washing towels and sheets, the hotel industry is having less of a negative impact on the earth. For this, they seek credit.
There is a famous passage in Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, in which he argues that the only morally good acts are those which are the right thing done by an agent who receives no reward or who suffers harm as a result. If there is any way in which you benefit from doing the right thing, even if it is just a warm and fuzzy feeling, then the act deserves no moral praise since you may have done the right thing for the wrong reason. To act rightly is to act solely from duty for the sake of duty.
This is a section that students always find counter-intuitive. On the one hand, sure, intentions matter. But then again, shouldn't you give credit wherever credit is due. Even if there is some reward, the person did the right thing and doesn't that in itself make the act a good one?
The hotel case reminded me of this passage because, while it is wonderful that hotels are in this case are having a less harmful impact on the planet, they also are saving significant money on electricity, labor, water, detergent, and wear and tear on industrial washing machines and driers. And strangely, these hotels that put such nice pictures of nature on the page explaining this policy also have no means of recycling the paper they leave for you every morning whether you intend to read it not.
So, is Kant right here? Does the hotel industry deserve any greenie brownie points?
- A Gratuitous Question About Gratuities
So I am in Lake Charles, Louisiana to give a talk tonight about Einstein and the wonderful lecture series folks have provided me with a very posh room at a hotel in town. I go down stairs for breakfast yesterday morning when the woman at the cash register...
- A Couple Of Ethics Questions
Some great questions as usual. Let's start with the ethics ones. Kerry asks,That infomercial thing at the beginning of rented DVDs--"you wouldn't think of stealing a car! ...or a wallet! ...or shoplift!"--all of which culminates in a warning against...
- When Is Thoughtfulness Morally Necessary?
Ethicists use the term "supererogatory" for acts that are above and beyond the call of duty, that is, acts that are good, but not morally required. I've been thinking lately about how we draw this line. You're standing in line at the grocery...
- An Explanation Of Kant's Moral Argument
Kant?s moral argument focuses on the notion that God must exist to provide structure to the moral universe. Technically he did not believe that is was possible to prove the existence of God through rational or empirical means. It is important to outline...
- Justice - What Is The Right Thing To Do?
Episode 6. No ethics course can be complete without an exploration of one of the strangest and most important moral theories out there: Immanuel Kant's deontology (or duty-based morality). Kant argues that morality is not simply a matter of social...
Philosophy
Hotels and Kant
I've been fascinated by the way in which hotels now play up the fact that they send in folks to freshen up rooms less frequently as something that has environmentally friendly effects. By using less water and energy washing towels and sheets, the hotel industry is having less of a negative impact on the earth. For this, they seek credit.
There is a famous passage in Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, in which he argues that the only morally good acts are those which are the right thing done by an agent who receives no reward or who suffers harm as a result. If there is any way in which you benefit from doing the right thing, even if it is just a warm and fuzzy feeling, then the act deserves no moral praise since you may have done the right thing for the wrong reason. To act rightly is to act solely from duty for the sake of duty.
This is a section that students always find counter-intuitive. On the one hand, sure, intentions matter. But then again, shouldn't you give credit wherever credit is due. Even if there is some reward, the person did the right thing and doesn't that in itself make the act a good one?
The hotel case reminded me of this passage because, while it is wonderful that hotels are in this case are having a less harmful impact on the planet, they also are saving significant money on electricity, labor, water, detergent, and wear and tear on industrial washing machines and driers. And strangely, these hotels that put such nice pictures of nature on the page explaining this policy also have no means of recycling the paper they leave for you every morning whether you intend to read it not.
So, is Kant right here? Does the hotel industry deserve any greenie brownie points?
- A Gratuitous Question About Gratuities
So I am in Lake Charles, Louisiana to give a talk tonight about Einstein and the wonderful lecture series folks have provided me with a very posh room at a hotel in town. I go down stairs for breakfast yesterday morning when the woman at the cash register...
- A Couple Of Ethics Questions
Some great questions as usual. Let's start with the ethics ones. Kerry asks,That infomercial thing at the beginning of rented DVDs--"you wouldn't think of stealing a car! ...or a wallet! ...or shoplift!"--all of which culminates in a warning against...
- When Is Thoughtfulness Morally Necessary?
Ethicists use the term "supererogatory" for acts that are above and beyond the call of duty, that is, acts that are good, but not morally required. I've been thinking lately about how we draw this line. You're standing in line at the grocery...
- An Explanation Of Kant's Moral Argument
Kant?s moral argument focuses on the notion that God must exist to provide structure to the moral universe. Technically he did not believe that is was possible to prove the existence of God through rational or empirical means. It is important to outline...
- Justice - What Is The Right Thing To Do?
Episode 6. No ethics course can be complete without an exploration of one of the strangest and most important moral theories out there: Immanuel Kant's deontology (or duty-based morality). Kant argues that morality is not simply a matter of social...