Hume on the Morality of Suicide: One’s Duty to Self and Society Secondly, Hume argues that suicide does not violate one’s duty to society because the opposite claim of Aquinas is “ill-supported by a proper account of moral and social obligation” and that, in particular cases when someone is a burden to society, his or her “resignation of life must not only be innocent but laudable.” There is no social obligation to continue to live in misery if a person’s “social contribution is small in proportion
Kant to focus less on theoretical obscurity and more upon practical issues and leads to the notion of good will which Kant explains at the outset of Section I in Groundwork: It is impossible to think of anything at all in the world, or indeed even beyond it, that could be considered good without limitation except a good will (Gr. 4:393) Good will includes several features: it is neither merely designed to make us happy, nor does it rely on the consequences of an act or unconditional good. While
Normative determinations differ from scientific determinations in that they follow a procedure. Returning to the matter of stealing cake, Jack could acknowledge that rather than stealing from Tom, he has other choices in accordance with moral law. While he may realize that in accordance with causal law he will ultimately face the effect of his theft, only via a normative determination will he experience practical freedom. In this Critique, Kant’s main purpose is not to draw the reader’s attention