Kant's Categorical Imperative

4 Pages 971 Words

Kant starts out from the presumption that an action is moral only if it is good “in itself”. Moral actions must have pure motivations. Otherwise they would be based on some other motivation separate from the true goodness of the action. Also, moral action cannot be based on a goal. An action with no goal is good in itself and not just good because of a certain outcome. Kant emphasizes the idea that pure moral principles must be grasped a priori. Pure ideas are considered a priori and they are not based on our perception of things. All other things, however, are dependent on the circumstances.
Kant describes two different kinds of principles, hypothetical imperatives and categorical imperatives. “Hypothetical imperatives represent the practical necessity of a possible action as means to something else that is willed.” (87a) So a hypothetical imperative is something that has a motivation, and is aimed at a specific goal. Most of the things people do are hypothetical imperatives. For example, any skill a person might have and practice is aimed at some purpose, therefore it is a hypothetical imperative. “The categorical imperative would be an imperative that represented an action as necessary in itself without reference to another end-i.e., as objectively necessary.” (87b) Categorical imperatives are good in themselves and are not bases on specific goals and outcomes. Therefore, categorical imperatives are a priori concepts.
It is difficult to judge whether someone has a motive other than a pure categorical imperative, so Kant has a universal law to validate it. The law Kant suggests is “Act as if the maxim of your action were to become by your will a universal law of nature.” (89a) In other words, act as if your action could be a universal law that applies to everyone, at all times. Kant gives four examples that show how certain duties can apply to the categorical imperative. In each case, individuals...