In addition to my many pastoral responsibilities, I also am an adjunct professor in the humanities department at Quincy College in Quincy, Massachusetts. For the past year I have been teaching the General Psychology class but this summer I have been teaching Ethics. This is an introductory course, and has required some reading on my part. I have been fascinated by the Categorical imperative Philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Just to summarize, the CI is the theory that morality is a system of rules that one must follow from a sense of duty, regardless of one’s wants or desires. There is more to it than that of course, but you will have to sign up for the course to get the rest of the lecture. Anyway, I mention this only because it has got me thinking, and that can be dangerous. Kant felt that every human being had dignity and as such should be treated accordingly. So, in view of my previous post on the preferential option for the poor, and the Kantian view of personal dignity, I would think that we have an obligation to assist in anyway we can to aid the poor in their plight. Just some random thoughts…
Immanuel Kant
