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Written Assignment Two
Introduction
The concept of Kant’s three premises is a logical argument on what can be considered morally right. The first premise of the theory states that a person acts in a manner that would also be morally right if done by another person in similar circumstances. The second premise denotes that conduct is right if the end can be justified and not by justifying the means to the end. The last premise of the concept states that a person acts morally if he or she establishes that the act is allowed or in accordance with the universal laws that dictate how others in the same circumstance should behave (Thiroux 99). Michael Sander’s three contrasts also explain the major ideas of ethics. The first contrast is that something that should be considered just is what leads to the best consequences. The second one states that rights and freedoms are fundamental to achieve justice, even if it means that the best consequences will not be achieved by giving the person their rights. The third view is that of virtue, where the society and the government should stress the virtues. The film “gone baby gone” ends by judge Patrick making a final decision to report the illegal actions of Doyles so that he can provide Amanda with the opportunity to live with the mother.
Body
According to the first premise of Kant, Patrick behaved morally since he returns Amanda to the mother, which makes it the right decision prior to the good. He chose to return Amanda to the mother even though Amanda was living a good life with Jack Doyle. Normally boys and girls are sent back to their families despite the existence of criminal intentions. Therefore Patrick followed the first maxim since he acted in a manner that other people in his position would have acted. The second premise also shows that Patrick acted morally since he respected Amanda’s dignity and treated her as an end and not as a means to the end as opposed to what everyone was doing in the film (Kant 88). He opted for her to live with the birth mother and not Doyle, even though her life would have been more comfortable living with Doyle.
He goes ahead and speaks of human beings as ends in themselves and also as special creatures. Therefore according to this, his judgment was in line with the second maxim since he acted in a manner that said that humans are not a means to te end, but an are ends. The conclusion is that reporting an action by a detective is a sign of him acting morally. He reports Amanda’s kidnapping by Doyle, which is an action that can be sen to be established b the universal laws that govern all detectives. Therefore the decision made by Judge Patrick was in line with Kant’s three premises.
Patrick’s decision can be in line with Michael Sanders’s three contrasts since he did what is just by reporting Doyle and giving Amanda back to her mother. His decision was also in line with the second contrast since he made a decision that ensured that Amanda’s mother got back her child, something rightfully hers (D’Ambrosio 718). He did this even though Amanda lived a better life, which shows that it may not have led to the best consequences. The third contrast was in line with his decision was morally right and was, therefore, a virtue.
Conclusion
The decisions of Judge Patrick from the film “ gone baby gone” is in line with Kant’s philosophy and also Sander’s philosophy. He decided to return Amanda to her mother and report Doyle for kidnapping Amanda. All his actions can be justified by the two theories since, for instance, it was Amanda’s mother’s right to be given back her child and for Doyle to be brought to justice for kidnapping, even if it meant that Amanda would no longer live a comfortable life.
Works Cited
Kant, Immanuel. Kant: The metaphysics of morals. Cambridge University Press, 2017.
D’Ambrosio, Paul J. “Approaches to Global Ethics: Michael Sandel’s Justice and Li Zehou’s Harmony.” Philosophy East and West 66.3 (2016): 720-738.
Thiroux, Jacques P., and Keith W. Krasemann. “ETHICS: THEORY AND PRACTICE.” (2012).