kant
Explanation
This comic features Immanuel Kant, the 18th-century philosopher famous for his categorical imperative and deontological ethics. A person approaches Kant and says, "Hey Immanuel Kant! I really like your idea of living life by a set of universal maxims." Kant confirms: "Yes, people are an end in themselves. Always." The person agrees: "Yeah!"
Kant then delivers the punchline: "Which is why you can't do casual sex. Even if it's consensual, because it is degrading to both partners." The person's reaction — visible dismay — is followed by the caption: "One begins to see the virtue of utility maximization."
The comic highlights a genuinely uncomfortable implication of Kantian ethics. Kant's categorical imperative says you must always treat people as ends in themselves, never merely as means. Taken strictly, this means even consensual casual sex could be considered immoral because both parties are arguably "using" each other for pleasure rather than treating each other as ends. The person who initially loved Kant's moral philosophy suddenly finds utilitarianism (where the morality of an action depends on whether it maximizes overall happiness) much more appealing — because a utilitarian framework can easily justify consensual casual sex as moral if both parties enjoy it. The joke captures how people tend to shop for ethical frameworks that support the conclusions they already want to reach.