Kantian Ethics (Kant’s Categorical Imperative)

Morality for Immanuel Kant means acting in accordance with the categorical imperative. In fact, as is well known, for Kant, the categorical imperative is the supreme principle of morality. Hence, for Kant, an act is moral if it is done in accordance with the categorical imperative; otherwise, it is non-moral or immoral.

The Categorical Imperative

What is the categorical imperative?

First, as we know, an imperative is a command. For example, one may say “Don’t cheat” or “You have to fulfill your promises”.

There are two types of imperative, namely, hypothetical and categorical imperative. On the one hand, a hypothetical imperative is one that expresses a conditional command. For example, we may say “If you want to become successful, then you have to work very hard”. As we can see, this example poses a condition, that is, you only have to work very hard if you want to become successful. If you don’t want to become successful, then you can just sit, lie, and relax. On the other hand, a categorical imperative is one that expresses an absolute command. For example, we may say “Do not be late”. As we can see, this command does not pose a condition as it does not contain an “if-then” clause. Even if one is tempted to cheat, she ought not to because she is commanded absolutely not to cheat.

To know the nature and dynamics of the categorical imperative, we need to familiarize ourselves with some of the core concepts in Kantian ethics, namely, the idea of the good will, duty and the moral worth of an act, and the formulations of the categorical imperative.

The Good Will

According to Kant, the good will is the one that facilitates a human act. But what makes a good will good? For Kant, a good will is good not because it produces good results (as in the case of pragmatic ethics) or greatest happiness to the greatest number of people (as in the case of utilitarian ethics), but it is good by virtue of its intrinsic value.

The good will, therefore, is good without qualification. It is good without any condition.

How is the good will manifested?

According to Kant, a good will is manifested when it is done for the sake of duty. Hence, in order for a good will to be called good without qualification, it must be done for the sake of duty.

Let us consider the example of the “will” to help a friend. Kant would have us believe that if one expects something in return when someone helps a friend, then the “will” is not good without qualification because it is not done for the sake of duty. But if someone helps a friend because she believes that it is her duty to do so, then, for Kant, the will here is good without qualification because it is obviously done for the sake of duty.

Now, Kant says that the “will” is autonomous if it is self-legislating. Thus, the concept “autonomy of the will” means that it is not influenced by any outside factors. In other words, when a moral agent performs a particular act, her will is considered “autonomous” if she is not forced to do it.

Duty and the Moral Worth of an Act

Kant argues that duty should be the motive of any moral act. Inclination or self-interest can never be the motive of any moral act. This means, for example, that if a physician treats a patient, her motive should be “duty”, that is, the physician is moved to treat the patient because it is her obligation as a healthcare provider to treat a patient, and not the interest of profiting from the patient herself.

For Kant, therefore, an act has a moral worth (that is, moral) if it is done for the sake of duty. If an act is done out of self-inclination, then it has no moral worth (that is, immoral).

It is interesting to note that for Kant sometimes an act is done in accord with duty. For Kant, this act has no moral worth, though not necessarily immoral, because the act simply accords with duty. Indeed, it is not done for the sake of duty. As we can see, for Kant, there is a difference between “actions that accord with duty”, that is, actions that are done in accordance with duty, and “actions that are done for the sake for duty”. Again, for Kant, only those actions that are done for the sake of duty have moral worth.

Formulations of the Categorical Imperative

First Formulation

The first formulation of the categorical imperative is based on the principle of universality. It reads: “Act only on that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” Put differently, the principle of universality commands that every maxim someone acts on must be such that others are willing to make it the case that everyone always acts on that maxim when in a similar situation. The idea here is that if the maxim, that is, the principle on which the moral agent acts, cannot be universalized, then the action has no moral worth.

Let us consider, for example, the act of stealing the properties of the rich and distribute them to the poor. As we can see, the maxim, which is “stealing” or “to steal” in this case, cannot be universalized. Of course, even if someone is willing to steal, reason tells us that we cannot force all people to will the same. Hence, stealing is always impermissible, according to the categorical imperative.

Let us take another example, such as the act of helping a friend in times of need. The maxim, which is “to help”, is obviously universalizable because we can expect others to will the same. Hence, the act of helping a friend in times of need is morally right according to the categorical imperative.

The Second Formulation

The second formulation of the categorical imperative is famously called the “formula of the end”. Kant formulated the formula of the end as a response to his critics who lamented that the principle of universality is too strict.

The second formulation of the categorical imperative, which is based on the principle of humanity, reads: “So act as to treat humanity whether in your own person or in that of another never as means but always as an end.” It is important to note that Kant believes that human beings have inherent value and should never be treated as means to a particular end. This is because for Kant, if humans are treated as means, then they are reduced into things or on the level of animals. Thus, for Kant, any act that treats humanity as a means is not morally right.

Let us consider the example of cheating someone. For Kant, the act of cheating someone is absolutely immoral because this act treats others as a means, that is, the other is treated as thing. Needless to say, if we cheat on others, then we are treating them as means to our own selfish end.