The Role of Duty in Morality in Kants Work Essay

The Role of Duty in Morality in Kants Work - Essay Example In fact, other philosophers such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes agreed with Kant on this perception of morality, especially his basing of morality on the CI standards of rationality. As mentioned, according to Kant, the fundamental of morality as contained in the CI is the law of an autonomous will and a self-governing reasoning in which people are viewed as possessing equal worth and as deserving equal respect. A rather useful work of Kant’s on morality is â€Å"The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals†. This work of his covered morality-related issues such as the aims and methods of moral philosophy, good will, moral worth and duty, and duty and respect for moral law among others (Kant, 1998). He would later refine, develop, modify, and enrich some of his views in this piece of work in later writings such as â€Å"The Critique of Practical Reason, The Metaphysics of Morals, Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View and Religion.†Ã‚   In his discussion of good will, moral worth, and duty, Kant insists that describing and defining people as good hearted alone does not make their actions moral, insisting that only ‘good will’ qualifies as moral. Thus, good heartedness in the ordinary sense does not make people or their actions moral. Good will is thus closer to the notion of good person or a rational person. In the opinion of Kant, the possession of a good will is the cornerstone of what makes a person and his/her action moral. In addition, such a good will should make one to base decisions on the moral law.