Kants categorical and hypothetical imperative essay
That would have the consequence that the CI is a logical truth, and Kant insists that it is not or at least that it is not analytic. It determines the will of the action.
Hypothetical imperative examples in real life
The first is that, as Kant and others have conceived of it, ethics initially requires an analysis of our moral concepts. What is the function of reason? A rational will that is merely bound by universal laws could act accordingly from natural and non-moral motives, such as self-interest. One explanation for this is that, since each person necessarily wills her own happiness, maxims in pursuit of this goal will be the typical object of moral evaluation. Consider how political freedom in liberal theories is thought to be related to legitimate political authority: A state is free when its citizens are bound only by laws in some sense of their own making — created and put into effect, say, by vote or by elected representatives. This appears to say that moral rightness is not a function of the value of intended or actual outcomes. What naturally comes to mind is this: Duties are rules or laws of some sort combined with some sort of felt constraint or incentive on our choices, whether from external coercion by others or from our own powers of reason. One strategy favored recently has been to turn back to the arguments of Groundwork II for help. But they are not moral. To will something, on this picture, is to govern oneself in accordance with reason. The subjective differences between formulas are presumably differences that appeal in different ways to various conceptions of what morality demands of us. Only then would the action have moral worth.Immanuel Kant is known for his absolute and idealistic approach to answering this question, with which he provides us a medium to answer it. For instance, I cannot engage in the normal pursuits that make up my own happiness, such as playing piano, writing philosophy or eating delicious meals, unless I have developed some talents myself, and, moreover, someone else has made pianos and written music, taught me writing, harvested foods and developed traditions of their preparation.
It is essentially "empty" -- it is simply formal procedure by which to evaluate any action about which might be morally relevant. We must never use or exploit anyone for whatever purpose. For instance, act consequentialism is one sort of teleological theory.
As a universal law, all rational creatures must act according to this maxim. The categorical imperative is something that has an end within itself. In so doing, I further the humanity in others, by helping further the projects and ends that they have willingly adopted for themselves.
It denies, in other words, the central claim of teleological moral views. It requires us to exercise our wills in a certain way given we have antecedently willed an end.
Example of categorical imperative
First, he makes a plethora of statements about outcomes and character traits that appear to imply an outright rejection of both forms of teleology. Second, possessing and maintaining a steadfast commitment to moral principles is the very condition under which anything else is worth having or pursuing. The distinction between ends that we might or might not will and those, if any, we necessarily will as the kinds of natural beings we are, is the basis for his distinction between two kinds of hypothetical imperatives. A human will in which the Moral Law is decisive is motivated by the thought of duty. All imperatives, no matter what it is, can either be hypothetical or categorical. The Aristotelian view, he claimed, assumes that virtue typically differs from vice only in terms of degree rather than in terms of the different principles each involves MM , The categorical imperative can be explained in many different ways. Kant argues that there can be four formulations of this principle: The Formula of the Law of Nature: "Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a universal law of nature. Those acts are morally praiseworthy that are done out of a sense of duty rather than for the consequences that are expected, particularly the consequences to self. Immanuel Kant is known for his absolute and idealistic approach to answering this question, with which he provides us a medium to answer it. Since Kant holds moral virtue to be a trait grounded in moral principle, the boundary between non-moral and moral virtues could not be more sharp. These appear to be metaphysical questions. Given these query results, do you have an ethical responsibility to do something? Each maxim he is testing appears to have happiness as its aim. One can never really no the end motivate to why such an action is preformed, but one can concure that the action was done according to the moral duty of good will.Kant came to this conclusion by arguing that the only thing that is good without needing qualification is a good will.