The Moral Theory

The Moral Theory

Introduction

During childhood period human life depends on the guidance and influence of the parents who dramatically plays a part in the formation of ego and superego. The impacts of the parent naturally do not only include the personality but also entails elements from family, ethnic and national traditions which are acquired through interactions. Therefore conscience is considered to be learned social character which is not determined by any form of morality and absence of God. Sigmund Freud developed a theory that illustrates that human psyche comprises of three components namely the id, ego, and superego. The identifier is considered to be the inner mind which consists of human feelings and desire. The ego is part of human consciousness which portrays what we offer to the world and our public behaviors. The superego entails the things including traits which we acquire from parents, community and other social concerns.

According to Sigmund Freud argument, he refers to “conscience” as the conflict that exists between superego and Id. Freud considers religion to be obsessional neurosis and argues that the belief in God’s existence and religion are human creations which are developed by the ego to provide satisfaction to the id to assist in coping with unanswered questions. For example in case of death religion provides the notion of “afterlife”; when an individual is sinful, there is the eternal punishment that awaits him. The philosopher also argues that moral values are the end product of human experiences and therefore morality is considered to be subjective and the result of upbringing and life experiences. The question of objective morality is out of mind, and there is no goodwill and universal duty. Freud is against objective morality and should not be subject of authoritative source.

Immanuel Kant in his argument illustrates that subject of morality needs belief in God’s existence a priori. Kant assumes that God’s presence provides the solution to the moral paradox where he states that human reasoning faces dilemma unless one believes in the supernatural being. According to Kant morality rests upon rational will and is categorically imperative demanding that human actions should be willed about the universal law (Immanuel. K. 2017) Therefore morality is not a concern of happiness but instead being worthy of it. This is attained by performing one’s duty of obeying categorical imperative. The virtue of dutifulness is the center of Kant’s argument, and an action is considered to be moral if it is carried out as duty and not associated with desire, sympathy or pleasure of individual’s happiness.

Summum Bonum which is top possible good is considered to be comprised of virtue and associated happiness. The only challenge is that the two are logically independent and self-contradictory. Achieving of summum bonum is virtually impossible but should be promoted through free choice of submitting to categorical imperative since only God can bring “summum bonum.” Kant is not focused on proving the existence of God but stresses that the notion of God just like freedom is inevitable notion associated with practical reason (Immanuel. K., 2017). If Freud moral awareness is considered to be the actual case, then Kant’s arguments seem to be incorrect. In the absence of objective moral rule Kant do not need God to instill fairness in the world. Freud’s case that human guilty conscience develops from demands related to societal expectation existing in mind; this is base on unclear evidence.

The arguments by Freud have faced several challenges claiming the underlying reasoning is not scientific therefore it is difficult to credit Freud as correct. Richard Dawkins also objects to Kant’s argument on the similar basis that morality stems from another source apart from God. Similarly, if Dawkins can prove that morality originates from another source the Kant’s moral theory will be incorrect. Dawkins stresses that morality was developed as part of human evolution and is not associate with God. According to Dawkins morality performs the specific function in human life and associations to keep them mentally stable. Kant illustrates that existence of God is detrimental in providing structure for morals in the universe which is fair and fundamentally rational. The Copernican revolution provides two aspects of knowledge which exist in the noumenal world and phenomenal world (Immanuel. K. 2017). Noumenal world is concerned with the subject without any observations and analysis which is unknown since events alter the perception. The phenomenal world is individual’s interpretation of the universe.

The essential elements in explanation of Kant’s moral argument focus on reason as the tool to understanding the nature of the universe. The moral case gives attention to the idea of inclining towards perfect moral, right, duty and goodwill.it argues that heavens above and the moral law within are core fundamentals of the theory which expresses that the act of morality is universal and is objective (Immanuel. K. 2017). Kant argues that highest format of goodness relies on freedom of choosing well without associated reward. He states that awareness of the difference between right and wrong enables humanity to act accordingly as a moral duty.

Conclusion

This paper discusses the moral theory in the aspect of Immanuel Kant arguments and relates it to Sigmund Freud and Richard Dawkins claims to support its illustration. It provides arguments about moral theory and analysis of facts existing in it. The Immanuel Kant argument is considered in this paper as valid.

Reference

Kant, Immanuel. Kant: The metaphysics of morals. Cambridge University Press, 2017.