How do I teach Kant and utilitarianism to high schoolers?
How do I teach Kant and utilitarianism to high schoolers?
Teach both theories through the same set of cases so students see where they agree and where they split. Start with consequences, which students find intuitive, then bring in Kant's question of whether your rule could work as a law for everyone. This page covers typical confusions, classroom moves, a five-lesson comparison and ready-made philosophy units for Grades 11 and 12.
Browse the philosophy bundleTeach utilitarianism and Kantian ethics side by side, using the same dilemmas for both. Utilitarianism judges an action by its results: the right choice produces the most overall well-being for everyone affected. Kant judges the rule behind the action: could everyone act on it, and does it treat people as ends rather than merely as means? Cases like lying to protect a friend or the trolley problem show exactly where the two theories part ways.
Ready-made material
High School Philosophy Course Bundle, Grades 11–12
8 resources in one download: $89.99 instead of $199.92 bought separately.
The first cover is the main resource; the others are related options. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
High School Philosophy Course Bundle | Existentialism, Habermas, Ethics & Theory of Knowledge | 8 Units | Grades 11–12
High School Psychology and Sociology Course Bundle | Moral Development, Socialization & Aggression | 8 Units | Grades 11–12
Middle School Ethics Curriculum | Justice, Conscience, Freedom, Digital Life & Climate | 10 Units | Grades 6–9
Teach-Life-Balance: The Complete Time-Saving Course for Teachers (incl. Planner, Guides & Templates)
Why it is hard
Why these theories trip students up
Both theories look simple on a summary slide and fall apart in student writing. Students often reduce utilitarianism to 'majority rules' or 'whatever makes most people happy right now', forgetting that every person's well-being counts equally and that long-term effects matter. They also struggle with its hard cases: if harming one person helps five, is that right? Kant is harder. The categorical imperative sounds like the Golden Rule, so students apply it as 'would I like it if someone did this to me?', which misses the logic of universalizing a maxim. Treating people as ends in themselves gets flattened into 'be nice'. Many students decide Kant is simply rigid after the murderer-at-the-door example and stop there. Vocabulary piles up fast: maxim, duty, hypothetical and categorical imperatives, act and rule utilitarianism. In essays, students tend to describe the theories instead of applying them, so the paper becomes a summary with a case tacked on at the end. A course that adds Habermas and discourse ethics brings a third view, which is rich but can overload a class that has not yet secured the first two.
What works
Moves that make the theories usable
Students understand an ethical theory when they can apply it to a new case and predict its verdict.
- Start with utilitarianism, since students already reason about outcomes, then introduce Kant as the challenge.
- Teach maxim writing explicitly: 'When I am in situation X, I will do Y to get Z.'
- Give students a two-column case sheet and require a verdict and reason from each theory.
- Use the lying promise example to show why some maxims fail once universalized.
- Assign pairs to argue one theory on a case, then swap sides the next day.
- Add discourse ethics last by asking whether everyone affected could agree to the norm.
Step by step
Five lessons comparing two ethical theories
Use roughly one period per lesson. Keep a single class list of cases and return to it throughout.
- Results matter: utilitarianismIntroduce Bentham and Mill with a choice about how to spend a school budget. Students work out who benefits and who loses, then discuss whether everyone's interests were counted equally.
- Hard cases for consequencesPresent the trolley problem and a version where one person must be harmed directly. Students note where their intuitions resist the utilitarian answer and try to explain why.
- Kant and the maximTeach the universal law formula. Students write maxims for breaking a promise or copying homework, then test whether a world where everyone acts on them still makes sense.
- People as ends, not meansIntroduce the second formula with examples of using someone, such as faking a friendship to get rides. Students revisit the trolley cases and give Kant's verdict on each one.
- Compare and judgeGroups apply both theories to a new case, like reporting a friend's cheating. Each student writes a short essay on which theory handles the case better and what the other one misses.
Ready-made option
Units on Kant, utilitarianism and discourse ethics
The High School Philosophy Course Bundle includes a unit called Discourse Ethics, Kant and Utilitarianism, plus two Habermas units, one on truth and the ideal speech situation and one on the digital public sphere. That gives you the two classic theories and a third perspective from discourse ethics. All eight units cost $89.99 together, compared with $199.92 bought separately, and the bundle is written for Grades 11–12. The Hume, Feyerabend & Habermas Assessment Pack is one of the eight. For a gentler entry with younger students, the Middle School Ethics Curriculum ($119.99) has units on justice, conscience and freedom for Grades 6–9.
Honest limits
Before you build the unit around it
The material is organized around specific thinkers and does not replace an ethics textbook. Virtue ethics, social contract theory and care ethics are not among the unit titles, so add them yourself if your course needs them. Choose the primary text excerpts you want, such as passages from Mill or Kant's Groundwork, and plan how much reading your students can handle. Check the topics against your course description; the store makes no alignment claims. Department-wide use needs a short message to Teach Lessons first. Within 7 days you can exchange the bundle for store credit of equal value; cash refunds are not offered.
Good to know
More teacher questions
Should I teach Kant or utilitarianism first?
Utilitarianism is usually the easier start because students already weigh consequences. Once they feel its hard cases, Kant arrives as an answer to a problem they have experienced. Starting with Kant can work in a class that enjoys logic puzzles, but his formulas feel abstract without a reason to need them.
How do I explain the categorical imperative simply?
Describe it as a test for your rule of action. Write down the rule you are following, then imagine everyone in your situation following it. If the rule defeats itself, as lying promises would destroy trust in promises, it fails. Then add the second test: are you using anyone merely as a tool?
Is the Golden Rule the same as Kant's idea?
No, and the difference makes a good exam question. The Golden Rule depends on what you personally would want. Kant's test asks whether a rule could work as a law for every rational person, regardless of your preferences. Someone who did not mind being deceived might pass the Golden Rule and still fail Kant's test.
Where do these units fit in terms of standards?
Philosophy is an elective in most U.S. high schools, so there may be no state standards that apply directly. Compare the units with your school's approved course description, or with a program syllabus if you teach one. The store makes no alignment claim, so that check is yours to make.
What cases work best for comparing the theories?
Use cases where the theories disagree: lying to protect someone, breaking a promise to help a stranger, sacrificing one person to save several, or a company hiding a product defect to save jobs. Cases where both theories agree are good for checking understanding, but disagreements make the better discussions.
How much primary text should seniors read?
Short, guided excerpts. A few paragraphs of Mill's Utilitarianism and a page from Kant's Groundwork, read with questions in the margin, are enough for most classes. Read the hardest sentences aloud together. Students in dual-credit or advanced programs can handle longer passages if you give them a glossary.
Put one dilemma through both theories
Choose a case with no easy answer and ask for a utilitarian and a Kantian verdict. The differences will do the teaching.
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