Morality By Immanuel Kant

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“Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above and the moral law within.” said Immanuel Kant. Morality is referred to as a societal code of conduct put forward by rational persons given the specified conditions. Throughout time, the concept of what morality is has played a crucial role in the study of ethics. Considered as the most influential thinker of the enlightenment era and one of the greatest western philosophers, German philosopher Immanuel Kant profoundly impacted the study of ethics. Kant believed morality should be based on reason as opposed to circumstances. As a deontologist, he was concerned with the actions of people as well as their use of will as rational …show more content…

According to Kant, morality has to be based on the Categorical Imperative, due to the need for morality to be in such a way that the person is commanded by it and cannot opt out of it based on the situation. The Categorical Imperative is an unconditional moral obligation that is binding in all circumstances no matter the consequences. Indeed, it is not a command to perform specific actions yet a step-by-step procedure to evaluate if an action is morally correct. Albeit, the Categorical Imperative has four different formulations, Kant emphasized that each version is a different way of expressing the same rule. One can determine whether the motive of an action is morally correct if the motive can be turned into a universally applicable maxim. Conversely, Kant’s deontological theory is flawed due to its concept of universally binding moral laws that are absolute regardless of the circumstances. In order to understand the flaws of the Kantian ethics one must examine the Categorical Imperatives disregard for consequences and the problem with moral

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