Lecture/Presentation Notes

Introduction

• Focus: Dramatization of a moral conflict from Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment
• Story involves Raskolnikov, a young man contemplating murder
• Scene: Raskolnikov overhears two men discussing the justification of killing an old pawnbroker woman

Scene Details

• Location: Tavern in Saint Petersburg
• Main Conversation:
  • Two men discuss the old pawnbroker and her cruel treatment of her sister Lizaveta
  • Discussion on the morality of killing the pawnbroker for her money to do good deeds
  • Arguments made that killing the pawnbroker would benefit many others
  • Ends with a man questioning if the other would actually commit the murder, which he denies

Philosophical Analysis

Kant's Perspective

• Participants: Philosophers Prof. A. Phillips Griffiths and Prof. Bernard Williams
• Kant's Categorical Imperative guides the discussion
  • Act only on maxims that can be universalized
  • Example given: Killing for greater good fails the universalization test
• Kant emphasized treating individuals as ends in themselves, not means to an end

Dialogue Summary

• Griff: Kant would reject the student's argument using the categorical imperative
  • Believes universalizing murder for a greater good would lead to societal harm
• Bernard Williams: Highlights Kant's purist stance vs. utilitarian view
  • Kant rejects any calculation that weighs lives for greater good
  • Raises questions on applicability in political/social situations with violence

Kant's Moral Outlook

• Perfect Duty vs. Imperfect Duty
  • Never right to kill for benefiting others (Perfect Duty)
  • Actual consequences not necessary for moral reasoning
  • Political violence introduces complexities beyond simple murder-for-benefit cases

Real-World Implications

• Comparison to contemporary political violence (terrorism, guerilla warfare)
  • Justifications rooted in societal wrongs/oppression
  • Kantian perspective: Such violence often unjustifiable as it sacrifices the innocence

Political vs. Personal Violence

• Justified political violence discussed in line with Aquinas' principles
  • Severity of tyranny, lack of alternatives, proportionality
• Student's case seen as weaker, lacking genuine political motivations and alternatives

Conclusion

• Students’ reasoning violates Kant's principles by treating life as means to an end
• Moral limits on killing even in dire social circumstances
• Differences between abstract moral reasoning vs. emotional/moral intuitions

Final Discussion

• Student's reluctance to act seen not as Kantian insight but as personal moral restraint

Closing Remarks

• Emphasis on finding balance in moral and emotional reasoning
• Thanking philosophers for their insights