Kant: Moral Theories

Kant's moral theory

According to Timmons, the field of philosophy is not complete without the mention of Kant whose contributions were major (205). This, he adds, was influenced by his originality, subtle approach and the difficulty of his works. Timmons cites that moral requirements are a requirement of reason, which is the ideology of Kant’s Moral theory; hence, immoral act is an act against reason. Consequently, speaking on the terminologies of Kant we visualize moral requirements as Categorical Imperatives (CI) grounded on reason and can, therefore, get derived from a supreme moral principle. The imperative in this case refers to a command.

Principally, Kant argued that immorality involved the violation of the Categorical Imperative, hence it was deemed irrational. By analyzing Johnson’s article Kant’s Moral Philosophy, one can deduce that Kant was in agreement with his predecessors on the fact that practical reason analysis only reveals the prerequisite that rational agents must conform to instrumental principles. Nevertheless he argues that the rational agency should be shaped in accordance with the CI and hence would achieve the moral requirements themselves. Kant argued that the rational will is always autonomous; hence, he states that the morality principle is a law of autonomous will. That is, Kant’s moral philosophy is centralized on a conception of reason that goes beyond being a slave to passion. Behind this self-governing reason, Kant thought that there existed decisive grounds that made everyone possess equal right and respect.

In summary, Kant believed that the even if our actions are wrong or right the consequences do not matter provided the actions fulfill our duties and the CI is a determinant of our social du...

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