Kant's Moral Philosophy
First published Mon Feb 23, 2004; substantive revision Sun Apr 6, 2008
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) argued that moral requirements are based on a standard of
rationality he dubbed the “Categorical Imperative” (CI).
Immorality thus involves a violation of the CI and is thereby
irrational. Other philosophers, such as Locke and Hobbes, had also
argued that moral requirements are based on standards of rationality.
However, these standards were either desire-based instrumental
principles of rationality or based on sui generis rational
intuitions. Kant agreed with many of his predecessors that an analysis
of practical reason will reveal only the requirement that rational agents must conform to
instrumental principles. Yet he argued that conformity to the CI (a
non-instrumental principle) and hence to moral requirements
themselves, can nevertheless be shown to be essential to rational
agency. This argument was based on his striking doctrine that a
rational will must be regarded as autonomous, or free in the sense of
being the author of the law that binds it. The fundamental principle
of morality — the CI — is none other than the law of an
autonomous will. Thus, at the heart of Kant's moral philosophy is a
conception of reason whose reach in practical affairs goes well beyond
that of a Humean ‘slave’ to the passions. Moreover, it is
the presence of this self-governing reason in each person that Kant
thought offered decisive grounds for viewing each as possessed of
equal worth and deserving of equal respect.
Kant's most influential positions are found in The Groundwork of
the Metaphysics of Morals (hereafter,
“Groundwork”) but he developed, enriched, and in
some cases modified those views in later works such as The
Critique of Practical Reason, The Metaphysics of Morals,
Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View and Religion
within the Boundaries of Mere Reason. I will focus on the
foundational doctrines of the Groundwork, even though in
recent years some scholars have become dissatisfied with this standard
approach to Kant's views and have turned their attention to the later
works. I myself still find the standard approach most illuminating,
though I will highlight important positions from the later works where
needed.
- 1. Aims and Methods of Moral Philosophy
- 2. Good Will, Moral Worth and Duty
- 3. Duty and Respect for Moral Law
- 4. Categorical and Hypothetical Imperatives
- 5. The Formula of the Universal Law of Nature
- 6. The Humanity Formula
- 7. The Autonomy Formula
- 8. The Kingdom of Ends Formula
- 9. The Unity of the Formulas
- 10. Autonomy
- 11. Virtue and Vice
- 12. Teleology or Deontology?
- Bibliography
- Other Internet Resources
- Related Entries
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