The Humanity Formula

The humanity formula of the categorical imperative suggests that we all in all our actions with others should maintain the ideal of treating persons with humanity respectfully for the intrinsic value as people. Kant explains this further by describing the difference between the idea of treating people as an end rather than a means to an end. It suggests that you don’t use or take advantage of people, he uses the horse/taxi analogy “Thus, the difference between a horse and a taxi driver is not that we may use one but not the other as a means of transportation. Unlike a horse, the taxi driver’s humanity must at the same time be treated as an end in itself.” It is okay for a taxi driver to drive someone but you must pay them for their work to you. We have to respect the person intrinsically because they are a thinking feeling being. We all have to co-exist in this world together and we should all give it our best effort to make that co-existence as smooth as possible by acting with respect at a basic level.

The Humanity Formula requires respect because it wants use to treat critically thinking beings as ends in themselves.  Although because of that it limits our freedoms to a certain extranet that being necessary because just as we don’t wont our freedoms taken, we shouldn’t take other peoples. I think that its super important that we follow this ideal when interacting with people because all we can control is our own actions. Kant believed that, “even the most vicious persons, Kant thought, deserve basic respect as persons with humanity.” I agree with this because even when people do something wrong it doesn’t mean one should follow in their footsteps.  That idea made me think of when my friend got a DUI and when she was in the jail the officers treated her like a lesser person.  They were short, mean, unhelpful, and even went out of their way to make her stay even more uncomfortable than needed.  She told me she was laying her head on a window and a passing officer smacked it with his nightstick laughing as it startled her awake.  The thought of their cruelty made me sick. Situations like this corrupts the trust we give institutions. We entrust so much responsibility into police officers and when you experience them abuse their power and treat people without intrinsic value it tarnishes the entire system.