Setting the Moral Principle as a Categorical Imperative

Abstract

Whether we embrace it or not, we must admit that Kant had managed to develop an innovative moral philosophy, the long-standing trademark of which is the famous categorical imperative: “Act only according to that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law” (G, 4: 421). Even if we accept, as we did in the previous chapter, that practical reason is superior to speculative reason in a way that does not negate their co-dependence, we would still find it hard to ignore the fact that the fundamental law of practical reason appears to be a pure rational imperative that seems to determine our will: “The practical rule is thus unconditioned, i.e., it is to be thought of as a categorical practical proposition which is a priori in character, a proposition by virtue of which the will is objectively determined in a manner both absolute and immediate.” (CPrR, 5: 55)