Immanuel Kant
1724-1804
“Justice, sir, is the great interest of man on Earth. It is the ligament which holds civilized beings and civilized nations together.”
Daniel Webster
“Whatever is my right as a man is also the right of another; and it becomes my duty to guarantee as well as to possess.”
Tom Paine
The principle of treating others as one would wish to be treated is well known as the “Golden Rule.” Wikipedia documents that the concept occurs in some form in nearly every religion and ethical tradition. Today in Western societies the Golden Rule is equated with our notions of justice and fair play. But historically, this is NOT what people understood as “justice.” It is important to appreciate the meaning of “justice” before the Enlightenment.
Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article on nobility: “Nobility is a social class, normally ranked immediately under royalty, that possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than most other classes in a society, membership thereof typically being hereditary… Prior to the French Revolution, European nobles typically commanded tribute in the form of entitlement to cash rents or usage taxes, labour and/or a portion of the annual crop yield from commoners or nobles of lower rank who lived or worked on the noble's manor or within his seigneurial domain… Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting… Peasants were not only bound to the nobility by dues and services, but the exercise of their rights was often also subject to the jurisdiction of courts and police from whose authority the actions of nobles were entirely or partially exempt.”
“Nobility is a social class, normally ranked immediately under royalty, that possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than most other classes in a society, membership thereof typically being hereditary… Prior to the French Revolution, European nobles typically commanded tribute in the form of entitlement to cash rents or usage taxes, labour and/or a portion of the annual crop yield from commoners or nobles of lower rank who lived or worked on the noble's manor or within his seigneurial domain… Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting… Peasants were not only bound to the nobility by dues and services, but the exercise of their rights was often also subject to the jurisdiction of courts and police from whose authority the actions of nobles were entirely or partially exempt.”Consequently, “justice” historically meant giving the king and the nobility their fat share and being thankful that they left you whatever.
Then came Tom Paine and the idea of equal justice. And then came Immanuel Kant, who is regarded as the greatest moral philosopher.
Kant argued that reason is the source of morality. His principle of universalizability requires that, for an action to be permissible, it must be possible to apply it to all people equally.
Kant: “Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”
We should treat everyone equally because arbitrary bigotry is irrational depravity.
This is simply the Golden Rule; but Kant explained why it should apply to everyone always: When we are deciding what is the right way to treat someone, every ability that differentiates people is merely part of their contingent temporary situation. For example, the judgement that you are most qualified for a job could change if a new applicant arrives or you suddenly became insane or very ill. Since we are only differentiated by contingencies, we are essentially equal! Denying Kant's perspective destroys empathy and morality!
Kant's moral perspective is actually the exact way that my parents taught me to get along with people.
When I was inconsiderate of others, my parents would ask me questions like these:
“Would you like it if someone did that to you?”
“Do you think it would be OK if everyone acted like that?”
“Do you think you are special, and the rules don't apply to you?”
“Do you think the world owes you a living?”
Naturally, in my youth, I was not a deranged theologian, so I had to answer “No.” to these questions.
This sort of enculturation is normal in modern, non-authoritarian countries that have cultures based on reason; as opposed to old fashioned cultures based on dogma and force.
“Every kindergarten teacher is implicitly a Kantian.”
Michael Sugrue