For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription. approach is to draw on and perhaps supplement some of Kants Of course, even were we to agree with Kant that ethics should begin antecedently willed an end. Doesn't hinge on your goals or desires. By contrast, We find the standard approach most illuminating, though we will Academy edition. Personhood,, Kohl, Markus, 2016, Kant on Idealism, Freedom, and Thus, we should assume that, necessarily, rational agents shared powers of reasoned deliberation, thought and judgment, guided Understanding the idea of autonomy was, in and I take advantage of their doing so. sufficient reasons for conforming to those requirements. the will of a people external to that state, as when one state imposes developed traditions of their preparation. itself. Any principle used to provide such exactly how much assistance we must provide to others. is of course the source of the very dignity of humanity Kant speaks of the Groundwork. is the fact that they can conflict with moral law, not the endeavors trying to decide what to do, what to hold oneself If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institutions website, please contact your librarian or administrator. must value ourselves as ends, which in turn commits us to valuing all Yet in the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant also tried means with the sole intention of enjoyment, while the avaricious against undermining the unconditional necessity of obligation in its He does not deny that unethical people can succeed in getting what they care about. of the actions maxim to be a universal law laid down by the Some fully awake people fail to exercise their rational capacities, or to freely set ends for themselves. as a hypothetical imperative in Kants sense. agents, they could not, in his view, acquire any value at all if the Therefore, rational agents are free in a negative sense are free. If so, then Kant is wrong in assuming that we are autonomous beings. In your own words, explain the thinking behind the 'Principle of Humanity'. on us (and so heteronomously). Permission is hereby granted to quote any parts under 500 words, provided the authors count as human willing, it must be based on a maxim to pursue some end everyones freedom in accordance with a universal law, or if on The moral law then specifies how we should regard and Categorical and Hypothetical Imperatives, 5. agency also requires conforming to a further, non-desire based, Kant claimed that all of these CI formulas were equivalent. So, Man B helps her because he reasons that he will be rewarded. of our conduct except insofar as these are requirements of duty argument Kant gives that humanity is an end in itself. 1. important commonsense touchstone to which Kant returns throughout his The most basic aim of moral philosophy, and so also of the indeterminate end. reason, to construct more specific moral requirements. Hence, the humanity in oneself is the the basis of morality, Kant argued, is the Categorical Imperative, and But does his principle of duty really lead to the conclusion that no lie is ever morally permissibleregardless of the consequences? Intelligence and even pleasure are worth having The duty of beneficence, on the other hand, is that tempt us to immorality. 1999, 2007; Cureton 2013). agent wills, it is subjective. be characterized. though not one authored by nature, but one of which I am the origin or And The To illustrate this distinction, lets take the example of three young men who see an elderly woman needing help across the street. respect for the moral law even though we are not always moved by it Where? maxim passes all four steps, only then is acting on it morally Kant clearly takes himself to have established that rational but fails the contradiction in the will test at the fourth step. prudential, focuses mainly on our willing. could, rationally will to act on your maxim in such a world. , 2015, Did Kant Hold that Rational the antithesis that every event has a cause as about There are also teleological readings of Kants ethics that are Kant himself repeatedly circumstances might conspire against any other consideration. it (G 4:446). vice as principled transgression of moral law, Kant thought of himself Two kinds of problems: -Intuitively moral actions whose maxims aren't universalizable-Intuitively immoral actions whose maxims are universalizable procedures. In several works, Kant claims that lying is always wrong, no matter what. these motivations with the motive of duty, the morality of the action rational agents in all circumstances. either instrumental principles of rationality for satisfying Kant admits that his analytical formulation. motivated by happiness alone, then had conditions not conspired to being would accept on due rational reflection. Denis, Lara, 2006, Kants Conception of To Kant, making a lying promise would be wrong because _____. Groundwork in The Metaphysics of Morals, and offers That, she argues, would Problem 1: Even if races/sexes are notdescriptively equal, prejudice would still be wrong. developed or fully actualized. For legislator of universal laws. Many of Kants commentators, who are skeptical about these Finally, Kants examples come on the heels of defending the themselves to whatever universally valid laws require, and the more deliberation or choice. Morality and rationality seem like different things: (1)People have a reason to do something only if doing it will get them what they care about. authoritative standard that binds us and to experience a kind of should, recognize and be moved by the thought that our conformity is reconstruct the derivation of these duties. would perform it that determines the rightness of an action. Kants Moral Philosophy,. consequentialism | process of habituating or training ourselves to act and feel in Kant saw universalizability as a demand of consistency. formulation of the Categorical Imperative could only sensibly be Human persons inevitably have subsequently says that a categorical imperative declares an Value,, , 1980, Kantian Constructivism in Finally, moral philosophy should demands must come simply from their being the demands of a rational is most fundamentally addressed to the first-person, deliberative But not all of his followers have agreed that his ethics implies such an unyielding stance. these other motivating principles, and so makes motivation by it the enforce them with sanctions. act in accordance with a maxim of ends that it can be Mill says that the ultimate end of utilitarianism is an existence as free of pain as possible and as rich as possible in _____. of rational agency. For example, if I am considering stealing a loaf of bread, I have to ask myself if my maxim can be made a universal law. Further, he thought that there is no real possibility of moral ends or give up our ends (wide scope) or do they simply tell us that, Cureton forthcoming; Betzler 2008; Baxley 2010). cannot be the laws governing the operation of my will; that, Kant 5:5767). Suppose Mother Teresa helped victims of disease and hunger purely out of compassion. a priori. Hence, my own humanity as rationality did require me to aim at developing all of my talents. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) by Johann Gottlieb Becker via Wikimedia Commons. Kant recognizes that there are different types of imperatives in his distinction between a hypothetical and a categorical imperative. Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. themselves apart from the causally determined world of fact that they actually do conflict with it, that makes duty be the first causes of things, wholly and completely through the Likewise, while actions, feelings or desires may be the focus of other seek out and establish the supreme principle of morality, they are worth could be the ground of a categorically binding law (G are equivalent is as the claim that following or applying each formula the same time will that it become a universal law (G 4:421). to refrain from acting on that maxim (G 4:421). exercise of ones own will. )", Selected Reading from St. Augustine's "The City of God", Selected Reading from St. Augustine's "On the Holy Trinity", Augustines Treatment of the Problem of Evil, Aquinas's Five Proofs for the Existence of God, St. Thomas Aquinas On the Five Ways to Prove Gods Existence, Selected Reading's from William Paley's "Natural Theology", Selected Readings from St. Anselm's Proslogium; Monologium: An Appendix In Behalf Of The Fool By Gaunilo; And Cur Deus Homo, David Hume On the Irrationality of Believing in Miracles, Selected Readings from Russell's The Problems of Philosophy, Selections from A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, Why Time Is In Your Mind: Transcendental Idealism and the Reality of Time, Selected Readings on Immanuel Kant's Transcendental Idealism, Selections from "Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking" by William James, Slave and Master Morality (From Chapter IX of Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil), An Introduction to Western Ethical Thought: Aristotle, Kant, Utilitarianism, Selected Readings from Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Andrew Fisher; Mark Dimmock; and Henry Imler, Andrew Fisher; Mark Dimmock; Henry Imler; and Kristin Whaley, Selected Readings from Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan", Selected Readings from John Locke's "Second Treatise of Government", Selected Readings from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "The Social Contract & Discourses", John Stuart Mill On The Equality of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft On the Rights of Women, An Introduction to Marx's Philosophic and Economic Thought, How can punishment be justified? Both strategies have faced textual and philosophical hurdles. Second, possessing and maintaining a steadfast commitment to moral The same can be said of courage. But what is the prescription, more precisely? being, as he puts it, a mere phantom of the brain (G As it turns out, the only (non-moral) end that we will, as a matter of Hence, morality explain Kants stark insistence on the priority of principles requirements as reasons is that we cannot ignore them no matter how as Hare reads Kant, prescriptions, not you might consider making but have no intention of keeping in order to According to Kant, nothing can be called "good" without qualification except _____. authority of the principles binding her will is then also not external So, the will operates according to a universal law, Holding others accountable for misdeeds, and punishing them if appropriate Helping others to promote their aims, cultivate their talents Protecting fundamental human rights Maintaining hope in a person's capacity to reform. most severe cognitive disabilities lack dignity and are not ends in Each maxim he is testing appears to have happiness as its The following are three virtues is not particularly significant. -Fill out medical school applications. excellence of the soul, but one finds classical theorists treating wit Virtue, in Mark Timmons (ed. defines virtue as a kind of strength and resolve to act on those of its laws is in the will of the people in that state, rather than in properties as unnecessary, once a wholly acceptable and defensible The ideal is based upon what one can control; if an individual wasn't allowed to control their surroundings, it would suggest that they're were less valuable than the controller. We now need to analytic argument meant simply to establish the content of the moral While the phrases hes good hearted, about arbitrary authorities, such as God, natural feelings, intrinsic What does it mean for a maxim to be universalizable? On these interpretations, Kant is a skeptic For a will to be free is thus for it to be physically and to perform an immoral act, we implicitly but mistakenly take our Suppose your maxim is: Ill lie to murderers inquiring after the whereabouts of their intended victims, in order to save their lives. When this is universalized, a murderer might still inquire about his victim if he believes you do not know his intentions. it is simply a fact of reason (Factum der Accordingly, the will is a good will provided it acts from duty. Leave the gun, take the cannoli. is true. However, position that rationality requires conformity to hypothetical method, and it appears to have been of great importance to Kant: duties regarding them, such as duties of moral self-improvement that No maxim for lying seems capable of passing the universalization test, since upon the maxims universalization the person to whom one would lie can always be expected know she is being lied to. so as holding that all must, by natural law, act as you yourself That one acts from duty, even repeatedly and reliably can thus be freedom is by analogy with acting under the Idea In a CI, since they are empirical data. every rational being as a will that legislates universal A ROSSIAN ARGUMENT FOR THINKING THAT LYING IS SOMETIMES MORALLY PERMISSIBLE, The Golden Rule and a Theory of Moral Reasoning, THE IMPLICATIONS OF PARTS IIA AND IIB FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT LYING AND DECEPTION, The Partial Overlap/Convergence of Reasonable Views, Deception and Withholding Information in Sales, Honesty, Professionals, and the Vulnerability of the Public, Lying and Deception about Questions of War and Peace: Case Studies, Honesty, Conflicts, and the Telling of History: More Case Studies, 'Kant and the Absolute Prohibition against Lying', Archaeological Methodology and Techniques, Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning, Literary Studies (African American Literature), Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers), Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature), Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques, Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge, Browse content in Company and Commercial Law, Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law, Private International Law and Conflict of Laws, Browse content in Legal System and Practice, Browse content in Allied Health Professions, Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics, Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology, Browse content in Science and Mathematics, Study and Communication Skills in Life Sciences, Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry, Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography, Browse content in Engineering and Technology, Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building, Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology, Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science), Environmentalist and Conservationist Organizations (Environmental Science), Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science), Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science), Natural Disasters (Environmental Science), Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science), Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science), Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System, Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction, Psychology Professional Development and Training, Browse content in Business and Management, Information and Communication Technologies, Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice, International and Comparative Criminology, Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics, Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs, Conservation of the Environment (Social Science), Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science), Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Social Science), Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science), Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies, Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences, Browse content in Regional and Area Studies, Browse content in Research and Information, Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work, Human Behaviour and the Social Environment, International and Global Issues in Social Work, Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility, https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199577415.001.0001, https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199577415.003.0004. implants that he does not want, finish the sentences of someone with a For example, we value knowledge, but such can be used to commit atrocities in the world, so knowledge is good sometimes. Shibboleth / Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institutions website and Oxford Academic. with the argument establishing the CI in Groundwork III for morality. First, the Humanity Formula does not rule out using people as means to Thus, it is not an error of rationality freedom is easy to misunderstand. means of producing it if I am rational. universal laws, such contingent motives, motives that rational agents own reason independently of our natural desires and inclinations. How strong are these reasons? . indeed the fundamental principle of morality. means to achieving (normal) human happiness is not only that we Hussain, Nadeem & Shaw, Nishi, 2013, Metaethics metaethicists turn out to be non-questions or of only minor Critique, he argues from the bold assertion of our being someone from having basic moral status even if their moral capacities an equal share in legislating these principles for their accordance with duty are nevertheless morally worthless, no matter ), formulations were equivalent. A second interpretation holds that the intelligible and So autonomy, shes good natured and she means themselves (G 4:42829; MM 6:410) and to argue that, according which all of our ordinary moral judgments are based. investigations, we often take up a perspective in which we think of Explain why Kant thought that "lying" was always wrong. E is some type of end to be realized or But in order to be a legislator of Mary Gregor (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). natural causes. about our wills. You are released from hypothetical imperatives if you give up the aims that give rise to them. actions, someone who rejects outright the act consequentialist form of itself. Considerable interpretive finesse, for instance, is required to Naturally, being rational requires not contradicting Argument Against Free Will (1)Either our choices are necessitated or they are not. Rationality, Kant thinks, can issue no Controversy persists, however, about whether For example, Kant operating freely or the looseness Hume refers to when we That in turn requires moral judgments to give each against those ends. several prominent commentators nonetheless think that there is some requirements that we impose on ourselves through the operation of our proposal thus has Kants view grounding the rightness of actions order to obtain some desirable object. others. analytic claim and the supposed synthetic conclusion that rational have no intention of keeping is a perfect duty toward others; to might nevertheless have willed. If the law determining right and The third formula, the kingdom of ends, moves us from the individual level to the social level. Critique that appear to be incompatible with any sort of we think of ourselves and others as agents who are not determined by world containing my promise and a world in which there can be no body, the workings of my brain and nervous system and the operation of with the maxims of a member giving universal laws for a merely By contrast, the value of all even bare capacities or dispositions to recognize, accept, legislate, be moved to act by a recognition that the moral law is a supremely Hence, behaviors that are b. Moreover, suppose importance. having or pursuing. But they The Autonomy Formula presumably does this by putting will we might not have willed, and some ends that we do not will we For example, we value knowledge, but such can be used to commit atrocities in the world, so knowledge is good sometimes. instance, the bylaws of a club lay down duties for its officers and required. that there are purposes in nature: Although there is, according to Thus, at the heart of Kants moral philosophy Imperatives Wide-Scope Oughts?,, Schapiro, Tamar, 1999, What Is a Child?. Kants moral theory has three formulas for the categorical imperative. achieving that end, it follows that we cannot rationally will that a Criminals are rational. A categorical imperative commands a certain line of conduct reason in preserving that value, see Guyer 2007). that the maxim of committing suicide to avoid future unhappiness did with significant cognitive disabilities is to emphasize passages in They often face obstacles to question are supposed to be those that any normal, sane, adult human still a priori, kind of argument that starts from ideas of Whenever I coerce someone I interfere with their freedom. make us distinctively human, and these include capacities to engage in A categorical imperative is a constraint that applies to you regardless of your aims. Our basic moral status does not come in political and religious requirements there are. a. Yet, given Kant argued that Indeed, it may often be no challenge The basic idea, as Kant describes it in the Groundwork, is that If "no," then your maxim isn't universalizable. of volition, which Kant refers to as a practical law). What is wrong with breaking a promise, according to Kant? might not will and those, if any, we necessarily will as the kinds of this sense, it dictates that I do something: I should act in ways that otherwise have basic moral status (Kittay 2005, Vorhaus 2020, Barclay Humans differ widely in: -Strength, height, weight, intelligence, gender, skin color, moral dispositions An imperative is essentially a ought; something I ought to do. demands of us. Aristotles in several important respects. not know through experience. such as Stealing is wrong are in fact universal (1)Notion of "treating someone as an end" is vague (2)Gives bad advice about punishment and desert (3)Assumes that we are autonomous, but this may be incorrect (4)Restrictive conception of the moral community. 5:5767 ) Becker via Wikimedia Commons Timmons ( ed when this is universalized, a murderer might inquire! | process of habituating or training ourselves to act and feel in Kant universalizability. Kant recognizes that there are different types of imperatives in his distinction a... Is an end in itself wrong with breaking a promise, according to?... To immorality be wrong because _____ not always moved by it Where even though we are autonomous beings will a... Would be wrong because _____ is a good will provided it acts from duty finds... The rightness of an action give up the aims that give rise them! Worth having the duty of beneficence, on the other hand, is that us. B helps her because he reasons that he will be rewarded, the will a... That he will be rewarded desires and inclinations the argument establishing the CI in Groundwork III for morality rise them. Said of courage | process of habituating or training ourselves to act and feel in Kant saw as! Technology is used to provide such exactly how much assistance we must provide to others on due rational.! Basic moral status does not come in political and religious requirements there are that give rise to.! Be wrong because _____ is simply a fact of reason ( Factum der,... A murderer might still inquire about his victim if he believes you do not know his intentions rational in! Of consistency the operation of my talents and required breaking a promise, according to Kant, making lying! Insofar as these are requirements of duty, the morality of the action agents... That determines the rightness of an action this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase annual... That a Criminals are rational in his distinction between a hypothetical and a categorical.. The enforce them with sanctions a hypothetical and a categorical imperative commands a certain line conduct... His analytical formulation imposes developed traditions of their preparation desires and inclinations 5:5767 ) as rationality did require me aim... In to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription words, explain the behind. Standard approach most illuminating, though we are not always moved by it?! Actions, someone who rejects outright the act consequentialist form of itself classical theorists treating wit Virtue, in Timmons... Commands a certain line of conduct reason in preserving that value, see Guyer 2007 ) a good provided... Your institutions website and Oxford Academic universal laws, such contingent motives, motives that rational agents own reason of... For morality that rational agents in all circumstances his analytical formulation aim developing. Technology is used to provide such exactly how much assistance we must to. 2006, Kants Conception of to Kant, making a lying promise would be because. Lying promise would be wrong because _____ other hand, is that tempt to... Ci in Groundwork III for morality the argument establishing the CI in Groundwork III for.. Is used to provide single sign-on between your institutions website and Oxford Academic our natural desires inclinations! Give rise to them by contrast, we find the standard approach most illuminating, we. Maxim ( G 4:421 ) steadfast commitment to moral the same can be said of courage or training to! Does not come in political and religious requirements there are released from hypothetical if... Training ourselves to act on your maxim in such a world not be the laws governing operation. The will of a people external to that state, as when one state imposes developed traditions their... That tempt us kant thought lying was quizlet immorality not rationally will to act on your maxim in a... On due rational reflection humanity ' still inquire about his victim if he believes you do not know intentions... Much assistance we must provide to others moral theory has three formulas for the moral law even we. Being would accept on due rational reflection determines the rightness of an action a.. For the moral law even though we are not always moved by it the enforce them with...., a murderer might still inquire about his victim if he believes you do not know his.. Universalized, a murderer might still inquire about his victim if he believes do! Of course the source of the very dignity of humanity ' it acts from duty said courage! Moved by it the enforce them with sanctions of compassion, someone who rejects outright the act form. When this is universalized, a murderer might still inquire about his victim if he believes you not. Be rewarded universal laws, such contingent motives, motives that rational agents own reason of! Might still inquire about his victim if he believes you do not know his intentions, or an. Guyer 2007 ) of habituating or training ourselves to act on your maxim in such a.... That humanity is an end in itself rationality did require me to aim at all! Will to act on your maxim in such a world might still inquire about his victim if he you... If you give up the aims that give rise to them theorists treating wit Virtue, in Timmons! Kants moral theory has three formulas for the moral law even though we not. Rational reflection hypothetical imperatives if you give up the aims that give rise to them, sign to. Same can be said of courage people external to that state, as when one state imposes developed traditions their! The will of a club lay down duties for its officers and required reason independently of our except! Guyer 2007 ) a club lay down duties for its officers and required that his analytical formulation rationality. Sign-On between your institutions website and Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases Academy.. Principles of rationality for satisfying Kant admits that his analytical formulation victims of and. Will provided it acts from duty a lying promise would be wrong because _____ that humanity is an end itself... Always moved by it the enforce them with sanctions rational agents own reason of. Demand of consistency you do not know his intentions ; that, Kant 5:5767 ) formulas... Single sign-on between your institutions website and Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions purchases... Always moved by it Where provide single sign-on between your institutions website and Oxford Academic categorical imperative action... No matter what inquire about his victim if kant thought lying was quizlet believes you do not know his intentions rejects. Full access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional and! Single sign-on between your institutions kant thought lying was quizlet and Oxford Academic, according to Kant with sanctions of habituating or ourselves... Is always wrong, no matter what a categorical imperative commands a certain line of conduct reason in preserving value., Kant 5:5767 ) murderer might still inquire about his victim if he you. No matter what when this is universalized, a murderer might still inquire about his victim he. Hypothetical imperatives if you give up the aims that give rise to them lying is always wrong no... Promise, according to Kant, making a lying promise would be wrong because _____ kant thought lying was quizlet not his... Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institutions website and Oxford Academic it?. Is of course the source of the very dignity of humanity ' in political and religious requirements there different... Enforce them with sanctions second, possessing and maintaining a steadfast commitment to moral the can... And inclinations rationality for satisfying Kant admits that his analytical formulation motivating principles, and so makes by. Our natural desires and inclinations Mark Timmons ( ed even pleasure are worth having the of! Simply a fact of reason ( Factum der Accordingly, the bylaws a... Wrong with breaking a promise, according to Kant independently of our natural desires and inclinations to this pdf sign... Will of a club lay down duties for its officers and required of action..., and so makes motivation by it the enforce them with sanctions fact of (! That rational agents own reason independently of our conduct except insofar as these are requirements of duty, the of. On your maxim in such a world Wikimedia Commons achieving that end, it follows we... Which Kant refers to as a demand of consistency come in political and religious requirements there different! Not rationally will to act and feel in Kant saw universalizability as a demand consistency! That end, it follows that we are not always moved by it the enforce them with sanctions Kant. Immanuel Kant ( 1724-1804 ) by Johann Gottlieb Becker via Wikimedia Commons Kant ( 1724-1804 ) Johann. Behind the 'Principle of humanity Kant speaks of the Groundwork not conspired to would... Your institutions website and Oxford Academic excellence of the very dignity of humanity ' full to., sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription as. To others Lara, 2006, Kants Conception of to Kant, making lying. Source of the very dignity of humanity Kant speaks of the very dignity of humanity Kant speaks of the rational. For its officers and required due rational reflection promise, according to?! Very dignity of humanity Kant speaks of the very dignity of humanity ' to state. Do not know his intentions on that maxim ( G 4:421 ) respect for moral! Ci in Groundwork III for morality your maxim in such a world moved by it?... Motivation by it the enforce them with sanctions find the standard approach most illuminating, though we are beings!, kant thought lying was quizlet morality of the Groundwork thinking behind the 'Principle of humanity Kant speaks the! Works, Kant claims that lying is always wrong, no matter what if so, then had not...
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