Kant and the Categorical Imperative

Kant
&
The Categorical Imperative
Moral duties
• Depend on reason not feelings
• Basis of duty must be founded on a will that
would become a universal law.
• Basis of duty not founded on human nature.
• Deontology‐ rightness and wrongness of acts
are determined by the intrinsic quality of the
act itself or the kind of act it is.
• Deon is derived from the Greek word for duty.
• Deontology is the study of duties.
• Consequentialist believes in duty as well.
Immanuel Kant’s
Deontological Theory
• The standard by which moral reasoning is to
be judged is disinterested rationality
Or
• Pure reason –a priori. This is contrasted
against a posteriori which is reasoning from
experience. Experience is not relevant to
morality.

Pure Reason
• Divorced from reality
• Cannot include self‐interest
• The sight of a being who is not adorned with a
single feature of a pure and good will,
enjoying unbroken prosperity, can never give
pleasure to an impartial spectator.
Good
• The supreme good is having a good will.
• This is good without qualification.
• A good will is an absolute value.
• Mental abilities can be misused if no good
will.
• Character without good will is bad.
• Happiness without a good will is bad
Pure Reason Guides the Will
• Reason was made to guide the will
• If reason made by nature for practical ends it
would have been better for nature to have
prescribed instinct.
• The more a man applies reason to happiness
the more he finds himself unable to achieve.
• The above gives rise to a hatred of reason.

Argument
• 1. As reason is not competent to guide the will with certainty
in regard to its objects and the satisfaction of all our wants
(which it to some extent even multiplies.
• 2. An implanted instinct would do better for this end.
• 3. Reason is imparted to us as a practical faculty. (to have
influence over the will)
• 4. Nature adapts the means to the ends.
• Therefore, reasons true destination must be to produce a will,
not merely as a means to something else, but good in itself –
reason was necessary for this.
Propositions of Morality
• 1. An action must be done from duty, if it is to have
moral worth.
• 2. An action done from duty derives its moral worth,
not from the purpose which is to be attained by it,
but from the maxim by which it is determined.
Therefore it does not depend on the realization of
the object, but merely on the Principle of Volition.
• 3. Therefore, duty is the necessity of acting from
respect for the law.
Implication
• Motivation to do the right thing is stronger
than our interests to fulfill our own,
individual, interests.
• From these propositions which are found by
the application of pure reason we now know
• The pre‐eminent good which we call moral is
nothing else than the conception of law itself,
which is possible only in a rational being.

The Standard
• Having a good will.
• Having a good will is having good intentions.
• One is acting on the basis of having good
intentions when one’s acts are performed
from duty.
Hypothetical Imperatives
• These always have the characteristic of being
self‐interested.
• These are never categorical in nature.
• Ex. When I want to lose weight, I will exercise
and conform to a diet.
• OR, If I want to have friends, I will act in a
friendly manner to everyone I meet.
Two Types of Imperatives
• Hypothetical Imperatives
• Categorical Imperatives
Categorical Imperatives
• Kant’s means to attain disinterested moral
reasoning.
• It is categorical since it pertains to all rational
beings.
• It is what all rational beings will follow.

The Categorical Imperative
• Act only on that maxim which you can at the
same time will to be a universal law of nature.
Or
• Always act in such a way that the maxim of
my act can be willed (by me) to be a universal
law of nature.
Kant’s method of attaining
universalizability
1. Determine the maxim of the action under
consideration.
2. Form the hypothetical imperative for the maxim.
3. Form the generalized maxim.
4. Form the generalized contrary maxim.
5. Test both generalized maxim and its contrary for
consistency.
6. Select the action which which meets the
consistency test, this is the morally right thing to
do.
Maxims
Definition‐ a maxim is a general principle of
action.
• Types
– Hypothetical – individual’s general principle of
action to attain a self‐interested end.
– Categorical – generalized/universal principle of
action followed by any and all rational beings.
Consistency Test
• Consistency in conception
– Conceptual consistency
• Would this imperative involve a self‐contradicting
concept?
– Logical consistency
• Does this imperative contradict itself?
• Consistency in will
– Would I want this imperative to apply to me?

Example: Lie
• I have a friend and she asks me whether she looks
nice.
• I don’t think she does. And I think I should lie to her
about her appearance. Why?
• Act: lie.
• Hypothetical Maxim: When asked for my opinion, lie.
• Generalized maxim: Whenever anyone is asked for
their opinion, they will lie.
• Generalized contrary maxim: Whenever anyone is
asked for their opinion, they will tell the truth.
General Form of Application
• Determine the act to be performed.
• Convert the act into a maxim.
• Form the contrary maxim.
• Form the generalized maxim and its contrary.
• Test for consistency in conception and will.
Testing for Consistency
• Is the generalized maxim consistent in conception?
• No!
• Why?
• Would anyone know the truth?
• So we don’t need to test for consistency in will.
• But what about the generalized contrary maxim?
• It’s consistent in conception.
• What about will? Would I want to know the truth?
• Kant maintains that all rational beings would.
Example 2: Helping others.
• Driving down a lonely country road and see a
motorist stranded on the highway.
• Should I stop and help this person?
• What is the act?
• Helping another fellow rational being.
• What is the maxim for this act?
• If I can help another, then I will help them.

What test is failed?
• Both generalized maxims are consistent in
conception.
• But could I will that no one help me if I
needed help?
• Perfect
• Imperfect
Types of Duties
Good Will
• Having a good will is acting from duty.
Altruism
• Def –a disinterested benevolence and
unselfish concern for the welfare of others
• Or –
• That aspect of a moral theory that states that
others are to be the primary beneficiaries of
one’s acts.
• Or –Actions that are performed solely for
benefit to others, acting unselfishly.

Respect for Persons
• Never use anybody as a means to an end, but
rather treat everyone as an end in him/her‐
self