Never Merely as a Means: Rethinking the Role and Relevance of Consent

Abstract For several decades, Kant scholars, inspired by the Groundwork false-promising example, have constructed consent-based criteria for using another merely as a means. Unfortunately, these accounts produce assessments that are both counter-intuitive and un-Kantian in relatively simple cases. This article investigates why fail offers an alternative. The example has encouraged problematically narrow understanding of conditions means virtue fact involves consent-sensitive duty. demonstrates scope prohibition on includes consent- insensitive duties duty-based account reflects this.