Immanuel
Kant
categorical imperative
HOW DO WE DETERMINE
MORALITY?
 morality is derived from duty
 moral principles are intrinsically valid
 moral principles must be obeyed in all
circumstances
 all moral obligations must be tested
through the categorical imperative
HOW DO WE DETERMINE
MORALITY?
 moral law applies to any and all rational agents

means of an action matter more than the ends
 moral actions must have a moral intent
 moral law is a principle of reason not of fact
WHAT’S WRONG WITH
IMMORALITY?
immorality=irrationality
WHAT IS THE CATEGORICAL
IMPERATIVE?
 a three tiered “test” to determine whether
a maxim is moral
maxim: principle or an action
HOW DOES THE CATEGORICAL
IMPERATIVE WORK?
 the three tiers act as three tests
 they must be worked through in consecutive
order
 if you “pass” test one you move on to test
two then test three
HOW DOES THE CATEGORICAL
IMPERATIVE WORK?
 morality is determined by the successful
completion of all levels of the imperative
 but you can’t take two or three without
passing test one
 if you don’t pass any of the tests the maxim
is immoral
TIER ONE:
UNIVERSAL LAW
“act only in accordance with that maxim
through which you can at the same time will
that it become a universal law.”
ex: lying about harboring jewish people in
your attic
TIER TWO:
HUMANITY FORMULA
“we should never act in such a way that we
treat Humanity, whether in ourselves or in
others, as a means only but always as an end
in itself.”
ex: kidnapping to get ransom money
TIER THREE:
KINGDOM OF ENDS
“act in accordance with the maxims of a member
giving universal laws for a merely possible
kingdom of ends"
• 1. it requires that we conform our actions to the
maxims of a legislator of laws
• 2. that this lawgiver lays down universal laws,
binding all rational wills including our own
• 3. that those laws are of ‘a merely possible
kingdom’ each of whose members equally possesses
this status as legislator of universal laws, and
hence must be treated always as an end in itself.
TIER THREE:
KINGDOM OF ENDS
 simply put:
• our fundamental moral obligation is to act
only on principles which could earn
acceptance by a community of fully rational
agents each of whom have an equal share in
legislating these principles for their
community.
• liken unto the golden rule: do unto others
as you would have done unto yourself
TIER THREE:
KINGDOM OF ENDS
 within the kingdom of ends there is a realm
of ends
• within the realm of ends the end of a maxim
is eternal
CRITICISMS OF KANT
 universal moral law is not binding
 laws only applies to rational agents
 people are inherently immoral, kant assumes that
people are inherently moral
 kant also assumes that people automatically desire
to be moral
any questions?
Fin