Categorical imperative

The categorical imperative is Kant’s unconditional moral principle: act only on maxims that can be willed as universal laws. It grounds moral duties in reason rather than desired outcomes.

Immanuel Kant: Immanuel Kant was an eighteenth-century German philosopher whose work shaped modern ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. He formulated the categorical imperative as the foundation of his moral philosophy.
Universal law formulation: The universal law formulation tests whether an agent can will a maxim as a law for everyone. It states the imperative’s familiar test for the permissibility of a maxim.
False promise: A false promise is a pledge made without intending to perform it, often to secure another person’s trust or assistance. Kant argues that universal false promising would undermine the practice that makes promises effective.
Consequentialism: Consequentialism is the view that an action’s moral status depends on the value of its consequences. It contrasts with Kant’s account, which judges maxims by principle rather than expected results.
Maxim (philosophy): A maxim is a subjective principle of action that states what someone intends to do and why. Kant tests maxims, not isolated movements, for whether they can serve as universal laws.
Humanity formulation: The humanity formulation requires treating humanity, in oneself and others, always as an end and never merely as a means. It expresses the imperative as a constraint against reducing people to instruments.
Suicide in Kantian ethics: Kantian ethics treats suicide as a disputed case involving duties to oneself and the value of rational nature. Kant’s example tests whether self-preservation can be made conditional on escaping suffering.
Utilitarianism: Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory that evaluates actions by their effects on overall well-being. Its willingness to trade individual claims against aggregate welfare challenges Kantian constraints.
Hypothetical imperative: A hypothetical imperative commands an action as a means to an end someone wants. Unlike categorical commands, it binds only when its desired end matters to the agent.
Kingdom of ends: The kingdom of ends is an imagined moral community of rational agents who legislate universal laws together. This formulation pictures duty as lawmaking among agents who are both subjects and legislators.

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