The Metaphysic Of Morals By Immanuel Kant

By the end of section II of The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant has established that, if there were a supreme moral law, it would look like the categorical imperative. His task in the final section of the Groundwork is to show that there does in fact exist such a moral law by proving that we have free wills, and secondary to this, he wants to show why we actually take an interest in morality. This paper will provide an account and evaluate the success of Kant’s argument in this final section.

The Groundwork takes up a big question: What is the supreme principle of morality? (Michael J. Sandel, 2009). Besides this question, I am going to consider the following questions: What is the categorical imperative? The difference between categorical and hypothetical imperatives. What is morality from Kant’s point of view? And of course, the main question of this essay - Will the categorical imperative apply to all kinds of moral problems?

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was arguably one of the greatest philosophers of all time. Kant thought that it was possible to develop a consistent moral system by using reason. Kant theories were focused on a person act and moral duties. Kant believed that he was putting forward something that would help people deal with the moral dilemmas of everyday life, and provide all of us with a useful guide to acting rightly. Kant indentifies a foundation to morally correct action in a form of psychological motivation. Different principles such as fidelity, justice and gratitude play major roles in this field (Close & Meier, 1995; Johnson, 2004; Jones & Carlson, 2001 Solomon, 1996). Kant wanted to base morality in reason. The result would be that two moral acts could never contradict each other.

In the essay titled “Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals” published in the Morality and Moral Controversies course textbook, Immanuel Kant argues that the view of the world and its laws is structured by human concepts and categories, and the rationale of it is the source of morality which depends upon belief in the existence of God. In Kant’s work, categorical imperative was established in order to have a standard rationale from where all moral requirements derive. Therefore, categorical imperative is an obligation to act morally, out of duty and good will alone. In Immanuel Kant’s writing human reason and or rational are innate morals which are responsible for helping human. Needless to say, this also allows people to be able to

Through the studying of Kant’s work on the metaphysics of morals, categorical imperative is defined as an absolute command that must be obeyed in all circumstances. He stated it is a universal moral obligation because it is justified as an end in itself. In another word, if something is morally good it has the ability to will everyone to act in the same way regardless of their background, understanding or circumstances. For example, rational beings do not kill innocent children. This is the kind of moral thinking that every rational being can universally agree.

In A Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanual Kant, unlike David Hume, aimed to establish an absolute system of morality based upon reason. Kant’s conceptions regarding what is moral and how someone should behave ethically, are often seen as contradictions to those proposed by Hume, who holds an empirical stance. As mentioned, Kant emphasizes the necessity of basing morality on a priori principles; he puts faith in the power of human rationality and believed that reason alone, not feeling, is a key to advancing human morality. An ethical system based upon reason would provide the framework for moral principles acceptable to all. Kant’s fundamental moral principle, the categorical imperative, tells one how to act regardless of what end or goal is desired, which correlates with his idea that people must be treated as ends and not as means. He also disapproves the action of lying and deems it to be morally wrong, as it corrupts one’s ability to make autonomous, rational decisions. While some may argue that Kant’s system of morality is flawed, Kant’s theories do prove to be convincing, even more so than his predecessor David Hume; Kant’s conceptions of what is moral and how someone should behave ethically are somewhat idealistic, however, his ideas should act as a model in which humans strive towards.

In his book, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, Kant explores the issues of human morality, and attempts to “seek out and establish the supreme principle of morality” (Kant 60). Despite acknowledging that human beings will still most likely act morally, whether or not they have a clear understanding of moral principles, Kant explains that a clearer understanding of moral principles can allow individuals to fulfill their moral obligations, and keep their motivations pure.

Keep this method in mind, it is important to elucidate here Kant’s himself methodological strategy for structuring the fundamental principle. In fact, Kant purports a complex formulation in the different methods. The task of this structure has been outlined, by Kant himself, in term of establishing the principle of morality throughout the Groundwork. In the first two sections of Groundwork, Kant proceeds his argument analytically, which means in Wood’s definition “moving from what is more evident to us toward the first principle” . From the first section, namely the common rational moral cognition, Kant arrives the first and most provisional formulation of the law, namely the formula of universal law (FUL). Whereas the Second Section is proceeding more philosophically from an

Kant believes that our moral judgment is right, just with the wrong reasons. Kant’s account of moral judgment is purely from reason. In the preface of “Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals” by Kant, Kant mentioned that “my aim here is directed

Finally, the last field was logic which was the formal philosophy. Logic used material facts to define its mandate and argument. Some of the classifications in these fields include decision theory, probability theory and computability theory (Flew). Kant argues that if the philosophy comes from an experience it is considered as empirical. In this case, there is

Immanuel Kant is one of the most important and hardest philosophers in history. Kant’s thinking of philosophy is based on human autonomy, the understanding of human and their reasons. An action of moral worth is not the aftermath by the action, but the motive behind it. He argues that the only motives for these reasons are from universal principles, leading to his famous statement of categorical imperative: “I ought never to act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal law.” With this statement, we can understand Kant’s beliefs on the nature of synthetic a priori, the five formulae (formulations) he created, his argument on sexual harassment, and how rational moral laws on race and gender discrimination with real life issues in society today.

We will be concerned with Kant’s theory on morality and rather or not it is convincing. I will argue about on how the good will is “The only thing that is absolutely good, good in itself and without qualification, is the good will” (pg. 127). All natural virtue, both clever and moral can contribute to wicked acts. Sometimes we assume that if we are successful in life and happy then that’s all we need, but in order to be successful we need integrity and recognition that can steer us in the direction of satisfaction. I will argue that Kant’s theory on morality is rather very convincing in this paper, how hypothetical and categorical imperatives are different but a key factor. Likewise, that the principle law of nature is the core to the categorical

Kant thought that it was possible to develop a reliable moral system by using reason. According to Kant, there are some moral laws that all rational beings obeyed because they were rational beings. Kant saw the moral law as a categorical imperative, which is a rule that is true in all circumstances. There are three formulations to the Kantian categorical imperative the first being the Principle of Universalization, Formula of Humanity and a Kingdom of Ends. As a result, in order to be moral, human interaction should always be of this sort. The formulation is used to find answers in ethical situations and is ‘helpful in guiding moral deliberation and judgment’ (Hill,

Principle based, or rights-based, ethics emphasize the fact that the correct path is not determined by the consequences but by certain principles or duties. (DesJardins, 2014, p. 37). Therefore, Immanuel Kant's (1724–1804) moral theory is deontological: one's motivations are guided by a sense of duty rather than personal inclinations. The main principles of the metaphysics of morals are; we are ends in as human beings, ends in ourselves, and not to be used as mere means by others; respect for one’s own humanity involves respect for others; morality is itself identical with freedom, and acting immorally involves being enslaved

Kant approaches morality based on a standard of rationality. Because an action is moral on account of its being reasoned, the moral worth of an action is determined by its motive, or the reason for the action, not by its consequences. We determine the worth of the motive behind any given moral action by asking whether we could turn that motive