Kant's Categorical Imperative: Moral Obligation of Everyone

Immanuel Kant was a famed german philosopher of the late 18th century, who is best known for his contributions in the fields of epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics and ethics. In 1785, Kant had originally published a novel that was titled: “Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals”. This writing is meant to dissect the principals of what we as human beings consider to be morally right and wrong from a deontological standpoint. Meaning that actions can be considered good or bad from a clear set of rules. Within this writing, Kant presents a theory that withholds certain duties in which he believes all people must follow, regardless of the individual's personal desires. He refers to the moral obligation as the Categorical Imperative, and believes that it is derived from pure reason.

According to Kant, moral obligation binds on everyone regardless of whether we want it to or not, and all you would really need to determine the exact nature of these obligations is your own intellect. Thus resulting in what Kant calls the Categorical Imperative. However, he also states that the best way to understand the Categorical Imperative is through the following principle: “Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”. The general statement that Kant is trying to make within this quote is that before a Kantian (individual whose ethics revolves around duty rather than emotions or personal goals) commits an act, they need to stop and consider whether that action should become a universal law or not. While writing this principal, Kant had intended for it to be inclusive of all people and scenarios, thus ensuring that the Categorical Imperative became a common practice. This can be seen when he lists off exactly how and when to consider the Categorical Imperative principle, such as: duties to ourselves, duties to others, and into perfect duties and imperfect duties.

Thankfully enough, Kant writes out a number of example scenarios that will help his readers better understand the Categorical Imperative theory. One of the scenarios involves a troubled man who intends to take his own life in order to end his suffering. However, before doing so he refers back to the Categorical Imperative principal and asks himself if the maxim of his action should become a universal law or not. This helps the man to realize that the action of killing himself would in fact contradict the duty he has to himself as well as contradict the feeling of self love, which is something that he believes should be a universal law. The scenario makes for the perfect example of how a Kantian should approach the Categorical Imperative.