Feminism through equality and liberty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Feminism through equality and liberty - Essay Example viously, if we are still being asked if a person’s attitudes towards females and minorities would influence the decision to vote for a candidate or not, there can not be said to be true equality for all. While many of the overt obstacles towards equality have been dealt with through legislature, this does not mean that people will automatically change their minds. Considering this, much of what has been written in the past about gender and equality still hold true today. There is an idealized notion of what equality means today, namely, that all people have the ability to do as they desire without other people attempting to limit their efforts based on any sort of preconceptions of race or gender. In discussing gender specifically, one must conclude that although attitudes have improved in general, there is still much in the way of individuals’ attitudes that must be accepting of differences in gender and sex before true equality can exist between males and females. Immanuel Kant attempted to lay a framework for the ways in which morality would function in Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals. He stated that â€Å"Intelligence, wit, judgment†¦are doubtless in many respects good and desirable. But they can become extremely bad and harmful if the will†¦is not good† (612). He was stating that these traits by themselves could not lead people into moral behavior. To relate this to equality, intelligence, wit and judgment, these traits alone cannot lead a person to treat all people in a moral fashion. Morality is not inherent upon anything but a good will. If a person is to discuss morality, obviously one cannot make any sort of value judgments about who deserves to be morally treated based upon gender alone. As Kant says, â€Å"To be kind where one can is duty†¦that kind of action alone has no true moral worth† (613). Duty in itself, he is stating, has no inherent morality in and of itself. Actions are in need of conscious intentions in order to