Kantian ethics are unifying moral principles that apply to all people, independent of context or circumstance. They are distinguished by their emphasis on duties characterized by wrong and right.
Therefore, in throwing a person overboard, Kantian theorists would say that killing someone is immoral, even if killing one individual may save 20 others. Kantian ethics appears to be more concerned with the deed itself than the consequences of immoral or moral actions. So, in this scenario, a Kantian moral theorist can argue that killing is unethical. Generally, it makes no difference what the outcome is, even if it is positive, as it is in this case.
A truly good deed, according to Kantian philosophy, is one that can become a universal law. In contrast, a purely self-serving action is not generally applicable and, therefore, non-existent in a Kantian cosmos.
When it comes to making ethical judgments about death, Kantian moral theorists aim for what is legal or considered universally lawful. The universal moral principle is one of the Kantian categorical obligations, which states that one should act only in line with that norm through which one may simultaneously intend that it become law. An example of the categorical imperative is “You should not kill.”
Therefore, these philosophers would argue that you cannot throw one person overboard since it is essentially self-serving and ungeneralizable under the universalizability principle. In other words, if you kill someone even to save others, then everyone else should also be able to commit murder, no matter the consequences.
Essentially, all people must follow moral regulations or directives, irrespective of their choices or situations. Therefore, regardless of one’s desires or goals, one must adhere to a categorical imperative.