Etica y moral

The word 'ethics' comes from the intimate relationship to morality, and both terms are often confused with each other. The terms 'moral' and 'ethics' have the same etymological meaning, but the first derives from Latin and the second from Greek.

The purpose of ethics is to clarify what is moral, how it is based on reason, and how it should be applied in different areas of life. It has been studied in the origins of philosophy, and its historical development has been different. One doctrine ethical elaborates and verifies certain judgments or statements. This moral statement, judgment or norm is a statement that will contain terms such as 'bad', 'good', 'correct', 'incorrect', 'obligatory', 'permitted', etc. When moral statements are used, they are being evaluated morally to people, situations, things, or actions. Judgments of moral are made when, for example, it is said: "That politician is corrupt", "That man is unacceptable", "Her presence is admirable", etc. In these statements, the terms 'corrupt', 'unacceptable' and 'admirable' imply moral evaluations.

Kant's ethics is an autonomous ethics, that is, an ethics that does not derive from the structure of a prior doctrinal, but occurs in the human being, that is, it is based on the fact that the human being is a rational being and this rationality implies that for the human being there is meaning in the determination of his/her own behavior, the determination of praxis.

It is important to clarify that the concept of man that Kant refers to, is a rational finite being that needs principles a priori to determine his/her behavior, praxis; as well, he needs principles a priori to determine the meaning of his life.

The Kantian ethics is based on the assumption that reason can determine the will according to principles.

Subjective principles, or maxims that imply a condition, are considered valid for the subject and, as such, only for his will.

Objective principles, or laws that imply an objective condition, are valid for all rational beings, no matter what their condition.

The maxim, as a rule of conduct that the subject imposes on himself in certain circumstances, is only valid for him. It cannot attain the value of a moral law.

In contrast, the law, which is objective and valid for all rational beings, imposes a duty to act, a duty to be. It is a necessary and universal rule that Kant calls the imperative.

The rational character of ethics, based on the use of reason, is what makes it possible to provide models ethical principles based on reason.

Reason provides us with causes, reasons, why something is good in a particular action, and why it is bad to do something.