Question

"Jealousy, Envy, and Grudge"

Kant’s essay, debate whether it is possible to envy others without begrudging their happiness. Describe how Kant views this issue. Provide reasons and examples to support your view. Kant’s claim: “Until one achieves a permanent change in the will's orientation . . . a revolution in which moral righteousness is the nonnegotiable condition of any of one's pursuits, all of one's actions that are in accordance with duty are nevertheless morally worthless.”

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) In the essay titled, “Virtue and Vice” Kant talks about his philosophical outlook on the human condition of morality. His reasoning in the essay is completely different from what philosophers like Aristotle have outlined so far. Ancient philosophers have claimed that something like virtue is inherent to human beings. However, Kant seems to believe that a virtuous human being has a sense of morality. When a person chooses to make his sense of morality into a followed principle, it becomes his virtue.

In other words, Kant says that people already have morals. It is just that following them fervently makes them virtuous. Similarly, he claims that a vice is nothing but “principled immorality.” Since a principle is something that is formed from convictions and habits, they are things that are built over time. This slow revolution is built by a certain dedication through habits and one’s willpower.

Once this revolution has culminated into precepts, morality becomes non-negotiable as it has completely set itself in the human personality. Let us assume that when jealousy and envy are vices, it leads to a person wilfully acting upon it and translating their emotions into begrudging behaviour.

However, if a person has practiced virtue and has undergone a revolution within their personality, acting in an immoral way becomes a choice that they simply are unable to make. Therefore, a person might feel envy or jealousy but would possibly never act upon these emotions if they have achieved a tough sense of virtue.