"One should always respect humanity, whether in oneself or in another, always as an end and never only as a means," says Kant in one of his formulations of the Categorical Imperative. It is frequently referred to as the "Formula of Humanity" (or sometimes the ""Formula of the End-In-Itself""). According to Kant's justification, it is important to comprehend what it means to treat a person as a means to an aim. Each of our actions, according to the theory, reflects one or more maxims. The adage expresses a person's policy or, in the absence of a clear policy, the guiding principle behind the specific intention or choice upon which the person bases their actions. To treat someone as an end entails in the first place that one not use another individual as a mere means, therefore it requires that one respect each as a rational person with his or her own maxims. To treat someone as an end one may be reluctant to judge others’ policies that cannot be regarded as the maxim of any person. They cannot rank acts in order of merit. Yet, the theory offers more precision than utilitarianism when data are scarce
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In this scene from The Dark Knight, we see various forms of ethical reasoning in responsible whether or not it is acceptable to inflict harm on others when they have the potential to harm us. The individuals in both ships try to convince each other that they aware that the individuals in the other ship will for sure press the button to blow the other opponent. Both the prisoners and the locals who are under threat from the each other but they both try to way their options and wait for clock to reach twelve.
In the opening scene of Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, a French farmer is faced with the dilemma of lying to someone who is going to inflict harm on innocent people. The solder talks the farmer into believing that things will be better if he tells him where his family is hiding. The soldier uses the farmer as a mere means. He promises the farmer that once he has tells him where his family is he will use his power and position to ensure no harm comes to them when the soldiers search the farms. In return once the farmer tells where the family is hiding he welcomes the other soldiers to come and kill the wife of the farmer. This episode clearly shows Kant’s view that once one act are done on maxim one treats others as mere means hence the soldier acts on maxim and hence his acts are not just wrong but unjustified.
References
O’Neill, O. (1993). A simplified account of Kant’s Ethics (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. In T. Regan (Ed.), Matters of Life and Death, 411-415. Retrieved from http://users.manchester.edu/Facstaff/SSNaragon/Online/texts/201/O'Neill,%20Kant.pdf
George Zotkin. (2010, December 11). Joker’s social experiment (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/K4GAQtGtd_0
Toni112007. (2012, July 6). Inglroious basterds Hans Landa opening scene (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/8uldpQpoZQM
Sayre-McCord, G. (2000). Kant's "Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals". A very brief selective summary of sections I and II (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/~gsmunc/phil22/Kantsum.pdf
Velleman, J. D. (2014). Lectures on Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Video playlist]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoX4xxkbESk3kxLrCXEc0_nen7K8olheE
