Emmanuel Kant is regarded as the greatest modern philosopher who made great contributions to the study of aesthetics, epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. The philosopher argues that not everything in nature is guided by laws and that human beings work out of respect for the law. Human beings work under the guidance of the principles, which makes them rational beings.
Rational beings make judgments which are based on the principles and laws that govern the way human beings work. In the philosopher’s views, our rationality enables us to understand our duty and our obligations to keep promises and to distinguish between right and wrong.
Kant’s argument is perceived to be correct because one experiences a conflict that justifies the need to choose between right and wrong in the inner person. One can easily choose between right and wrong because of one’s moral duties.
In the context of the categorical imperatives, action can be morally right if and only if such an action conforms to the requirements of that particular duty. On the other hand, an imperative that is not conditional is hypothetical. For example, if a person argues that if a person feels happy, then he should laugh. Laughing is a cognitive act, which is based on emotion.
On the other hand, the duty to do right is based on unconditional commands or imperatives that are binding. In that context, the categorical imperative shows that there are no exceptions or excuses for not doing right. The obligation to do right is unconditional, and the underlying maxim is the principle of the rule of conduct. In the philosopher’s view, human beings are free moral agents who have the freedom and power to choose between right and wrong.
The rationality of human beings makes them to understand and to distinguish right from wrong and to select taking either of the options. The freedom of choice is based on one’s knowledge and the reason for one’s choice. People’s actions are based on the metaphysics of morals, which motivates them to do right or wrong.
According to the fundamental principles of the metaphysics of morals, good should not have qualifications, and one should be inclined and duty bound to do right. The philosopher argues that duty is the necessity of actions because of the obligations to the law. The distinction between the willingness to do right and being compelled to do right differentiate hypothetical and categorical imperatives.
The argument provides a strong foundation in favor of and against the hypothetical and categorical imperatives. In this case, moral requirements which bind an individual to do right or wrong are based on the standard of rationality. The categorical imperative binds one to the rational impulse to obey the dictates of reason without “ifs” or “buts.”
The obligation to obey is unconditional and does not have alternatives. It is important for one to know how to act morally. However, knowing how to act morally requires that the person can use the principles of moral behavior. The philosopher considers human beings as being driven by desires and appetites, which sometimes lead one to do things which are not morally correct.
It is important for a person to embrace the concept of moral worth because it is the most important attribute for human beings. According to Kant, moral worth is the most important element in a person and surpasses the gifts of nature such as courage, resolution, intelligence, wit, perseverance, and goodwill. According to the moral imperative, moral worth is the foundation of a person’s ability to do right and is the foundation of the metaphysics of morals.
The metaphysics of morals is founded on the groundwork based on the elucidation of ideas, common sense, and morality. The argument is on the principles on which ordinary common sense or ordinary moral judgment of a person being are based. In this case, the judgment must be done by a person who is purely normal.
When formulating the theory of categorical imperatives, the first conclusion was based on the arguments that have been discussed above. A person can be bound by a duty that is perfect or imperfect. In Kant’s reasoning, the philosopher regards perfect duty as binding to a person, which is based on logical contradictions and presupposes the existence of a certain condition allows for specific behavior.
The argument was to establish the groundwork for the moral principles upon which the imperatives are based and demands for each person’s own rational will. As argued above, the rational will of an individual is based on one’s ability to comply with the moral requirements.
He argues that people are rational beings who are bound by certain moral requirements, which is rested in the paradigm that human beings are autonomous or possess rational will. However, the argument differs strongly from metaphysical fact about the will of human beings.
The other argument based on the metaphysics of morals provides the base for the argument on what one is supposed to do or answers the question on “what ought I to do”? The argument presents the philosopher’s findings, forming the groundwork on the metaphysics of morals.
The argument on morals presupposes the existence of reason, which is one of the fundamental foundations of the ability of an individual to carry out their duties based on the obligations to do right. According to Kant, morality is the key to the social interactions experienced in societies. Kant argues that genuine freedom is based on moral conduct. Moral conduct, in this case, operates on the principles and rules that guide behavior.
In that case, morality is not based on happiness or God’s will. Kant continues to argue that good or bad has limitations, except a good will. Goodwill, in this case, is based on a person’s moral worth, which in this case, is the desire in a person to do the correct thing without conditional or unconditional external influence. According to Kant, nothing can be done or conceived that qualifies to be called good except a good will.
Goodwill cannot be conceived because of courage, talent, desires, and intelligence. In Kant’s argument, goodwill is indispensable for making people behave as required. A person with goodwill is not led astray when he or she acquires wealth or a position of honor. Wealth or position is referred to as gifts of fortune.
In that context, the things which people regard to be good do not possess intrinsic unconditional values but are always presuppositions to goodwill. Anything good can be put to bad use if it is not backed with good will. Therefore, goodwill is the dominant factor that is good in itself.
Goodwill is not good because of the results of doing good, but the intrinsic values that define the paradigm. In that context, goodwill can bring happiness and is more important than the happiness it brings. Goodwill is something that is valued and has intrinsic values that make it a good thing, even if it is not used to bring good.
By Kant’s argument, there are different examples of Kant’s categorical imperatives. Kant provides two examples of the categorical imperatives which include the need for a person to behave in such a way as to make the action universal and the need to treat others as an end in them rather than a means to that end. According to Kant, people should behave in such a way that their actions reflect their wishes.
In that case, a person can decide to commit suicide because he is living in a lot of pain. Deciding to commit suicide will relief the person of the pain, but according to Kant’s categorical imperative, such an argument cannot be a universal maxim, and the person cannot be allowed to commit suicide.
However, if the person, who in this case is the agent committing suicide, can convince others that the action can be done and so that it is adapted to become a universal principle, then the person can be allowed to commit suicide. The second example, which is based on helping others, shows our obligations for charitable support.
In this case, someone can flourish financially and materially but can decide not to give anything for charity. In that case, the maxim is not to give anything for charity. Typically, the person is not willing to give for charity and is not morally right because the action cannot become universal. However, if the person doing the act can make it universal, then it can be argued that the action is morally correct.
In another argument by Kant says that “act that you treat humanity, whether in your person or the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means.” According to Kant, it is not acceptable to treat others against what they want or against their wishes. A person has to make rational assent to be treated in a certain way. People are to be treated in the best way they want, and the treatment is to be based on reason.
In conclusion, the discussion has focused on Kant’s moral imperatives of physical morals. The argument is in search of the answers to the questions on whether the imperatives yield clear moral answers. In response to the inquiry, Kant presents arguments based on prudential, rational, and moral requirements.
He argues that the demands exercised on our will instead of the results of our external actions justify the argument that our actions are motivated by the principles of morality and the prudential evaluation of our will to perform certain actions. It is important to note here that the rationale we provide for an action, such as for doing our duty provides the answer to the imperative we have based our decision.