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Immanuel Kant Absolute

1435 Words6 Pages

ID: A15030880
Prof. Elnabli
Philosophical Ethics
9 March 2018
The Absolute and Universal Nature of Moral Law
In Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant examines imperatives, which serve as objective guides of action for rational beings that are otherwise led by the subjectivity of the human will. He approaches morality by examining the intentions and actions of humans rather than the consequences of such actions, and thus his moral theory is centered around discovering absolute laws to guide ethical human action. Kant asserts that the basis of morality then, is a categorical imperative. This imperative culminates in three different formulations, all of which he asserts are necessary to follow in order to be an ethical human …show more content…

Rational beings have the faculty of a will, utilized when acting. In addition, they have the faculty of reason, which allows them to choose actions on the basis of principles. Kant argues that the only thing good without qualification is a good will, which is the goal of his ethical theory. A good will employs reason to act from a sense of duty, which simply means to act apart from the “influence of inclination”, and instead according to “pure respect for the practical law” (Kant 13). Kant’s moral theory focuses on an individual’s choices and actions, rather than the consequences of such actions. That is, an action is judged based “merely on the principle of volition” it has been done with, and it is said to have moral worth when it is done from a sense of duty (Kant …show more content…

Specifically, it must hold true for all rational beings regardless of context, and must be capable of guiding rational beings to the right action in every circumstance. Therefore, such concepts “cannot be abstracted from any empirical, and hence merely contingent, cognition” (Kant 22). Instead moral concepts must be conceived of a priori, or through reasoning that is independent of personal experience, in order to give them “genuine influence”, and “absolute worth” to their corresponding actions (Kant 23). Kant then brings forth the idea of imperatives to guide human moral behavior. Most imperatives outline actions which are necessary to attain a specific desired end. These are hypothetical, and do not have absolute worth for all rational beings. The relevant imperative would then be one which “determines the will by means of representations of reason”, and which commands an action as “objectively necessary in itself, without reference to another end” (Kant 24-25). This categorical imperative is thus the ground of moral law, and Kant asserts that is it to “act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” (30). Three principles of action stem from the categorical

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