Immanuel Kant's Supreme Principle Of Morality

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Immanuel Kant sought to establish the supreme principle of morality. To support his idea, he described the supreme principle of morality as a principle that must be able to guide an individual to the right action in every possible circumstance. For Kant, this supreme principle of morality occurred in two distinct forms: categorical and hypothetical. The categorical imperative is an unconditional moral law that applies to all rational beings and is independent of any personal motive or desire. In other words, it’s a universal law that focuses on rules to live by and is certain these are the rules that a person would want everyone else to live by. On the other hand, hypothetical imperatives are actions based on inclinations or desires, which …show more content…

Kant emphasized that this supreme principle of morality required an unconditional statement of one’s duty, and how individuals could rationally will other people to act toward one another. Therefore, this forced individuals to ask and test how things would work if everyone else did what moral actions were being considered. For example, if the maxim in question contradicted itself, then it would be wrong to use that maxim as a basis for one’s action. On the contrary, if the maxim passed the universal test with good intent and good reason, then that maxim should be made into universal law. Furthermore, Kant argued that every rational person should be treated as an end, and never as a means. In making this comment, Kant insisted that individuals shouldn’t treat other people as objects, tools, or resources to accomplish one’s goals, but instead as humans with intrinsic value and dignity because it denies the status of a person as an end in themselves. Thus, the categorical imperative required that ethical decisions be universalized and to treat others as ends and not as means to an

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