Analysis Of The Categorical Imperative

In Elements of Pure Practical Reason Book, I, Immanuel Kant, a prominent late Enlightenment Era German philosopher discusses his most famous ethical theory, the “Categorical Imperative.” The “Categorical Imperative” is a proposed universal law in stating all humans are forbidden from certain actions regardless of consequences. Although this is the general definition of this ethical theory, the Categorical Imperative” exists in two above formulations, A strict interpretation of Categorical Imperative and a more liberal interpretation. This Kantian moral theory shapes almost all of Immanuel Kant’s work on morality and ethics, particularly his “a priori principle” on human rights. Although Kant ultimately developed political theory, many of his views are often seen as bizarre or even controversial at times, particularly in regards his “a priori principles” of the people and the Categorical Imperative itself. By further analysis of the categorical imperatives and critiques, objections and concurring opinions, and the theory’s connections with the “a priori principles,” Kantian philosophy implication as well as critic’s views on the philosophy will be readily apparent.

According to Immanuel Kant, the Categorical Imperative exists in two forms. The first formulation,” A rational being cannot regard his maxims as practical universal laws, unless he conceives them as principles which determine the will, not by their matter,

In Book of Reason 1, Kant describes right as “the restriction of each’s freedom so that it harmonizes with the freedom of everyone else”(In the text). This definition of right resembles closely the 2nd above formulation of Kant’s Categorical Imperative in where one must consider the consequences of a particular action to other