A Moral Evaluation of Child Labor in the Philippines in...

A Moral Evaluation of Child Labor in the Philippines in the Perspective of Immanuel Kant’s Second Formulation of Categorical Imperative- Formula of End Itself Introduction Children are the prime movers of the country. They are very much endowed with so much potentialities in which may contribute for the betterment of the many. They are indeed really important in everybody’s life not only of their own family but also of their fellow human persons. Every person including the child must be respected and valued in virtue of his/her being a human person. Thus, children must and necessarily be treasured by valuing their own dignity as human persons capable of rationalizing for the betterment of the future. However, in the†¦show more content†¦Formula of End Itself This second formula of Kant stresses the value of human person. It states that â€Å"act in such a way that you will always treat humanity whether in your own person or in the person of any other never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end† (Kant, 1964, p. 96). In this formula, Kant argues that any person should not be used as a mere tool or in strument for the attainment of something else. Every human person then has inherent value regardless of his/her culture, physical stature, nationality, and the like. Thus, every human person has dignity. He added, human person should not be used as a mean because of the person’s rationality. It is his/her rational faculty that which makes man a man and thus should be respected and developed further. Human person is always treated as end because his/her â€Å"rational nature exists as an end in itself† (Kant, 1964, p. 96). Kant explains his contention about man’s inherent dignity by distinguishing inherent value from instrumental value. The latter primarily are the things which do not have innate value such as money, food, and any material beings. Things such as those are really intended to the service for the human person. They are