Immanuel Kant
The Immanuel Kant case introduces duty ethics, one of the most important non-consequentialist approaches to moral reasoning. Kant argued that the rightness of an action depends on the intention behind it, not merely on its consequences. On this view, a person acts morally only when they act from a sense of duty, rather than from self-interest, fear, convenience, or the desire to produce a good outcome. Kant’s universalization test asks whether the reason for one’s action could be accepted as a rule for everyone. The main question of this case is whether engineers can determine what they ought to do by reasoning about duties, maxims, and respect for persons, rather than by calculating consequences. This case highlights the importance of intention, honesty, and respect for human beings as autonomous agents.