Kant's Categorical Imperative Essay

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Kant defined reason as the capacity to extract ourselves from sensual experience to discover the fundamentally universal laws. Kant viewed animals as slaves seeking only pleasure and pain, and to be moral beings we need to use the reason we are placed with by nature to make moral choices over wanting pleasure; Kant believed that humans could also discover universal moral laws using reason. But to understand the morality of an act we have to forget about the consequences; any consequence or opposing thought such as doubt should be ignored for the intention of making the right decision because you ought to. “For reason recognizes the establishment of a good will as its highest practical destination, and in attaining this purpose is capable only of satisfaction of …show more content…
For example, courage can have an adverse impact if the character that follows is not good. In other words, if an evil person has these “goods,” these traits would only make his will to do what is not okay. It is only when the will is combined with goodwill that it can have moral value. Kant has a way of distinguishing a “moral act” from an action that looks righteous but has no actual value. Kant calls it the “Categorical Imperative” which states, “Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” (p.9). This quote explains that an action is immoral if one believes that they’re an exception to the universal law. One must try to universalize the maxim of the action without any contradictions, and if nothing is found, then it is moral. For example, when the Joker steals money from a bank, we put out the maxim that it is morally right for the Joker to take money right now because he’s