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A PDF file of the classic work by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who argues for a pure moral philosophy based on a priori principles. The file contains the preface, three chapters, and editorial explanations of the text.
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- JENS TIMMERMANN
- The Preface, and the project of the Groundwork
- First section
- Second section
- The Formula of Humanity
University of St. Andrews t ra n s l at i o n r evi s e d by JENS TIMMERMANN w it h a n i n t ro d u ct i o n by
We can make these abstract ideas more concrete by turning to the Preface of the Groundwork. Here Kant divides philosophy into three parts: logic, which applies to all thought; physics, which deals with the way the world is; and ethics, which deals with what we ought to do. Kant thinks of each of these as a domain of laws: logic deals with the laws ...
In each section of the Groundwork, Kant carries out a specific project, which in turn forms part of the argument of the whole. In the Preface, Kant says that his project in the first section will be to take ones route “ ’ analytically from common cognition to the determination of its supreme principle (4:392). In other words, Kant is going to start...
Although the argument of the first section proceeded from our ordinary ideas about morality, and involved the consideration of examples, it is not therefore an empirical argument. The examples do not serve as a kind of data from which conclusions about moral motivation are inductively drawn. Instead, the argument is based on our rational appraisal ...
We have now seen what the categorical imperative says. In order to show that we actually have unconditional requirements, and so that moral xxiii obligation is real, we have to show that this principle is one that neces-sarily governs our wills. This investigation is in part a motivational one, since no law can truly govern our wills unless we can ...
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Kant proceeds to motivate the need for the special sort of inquiry he calls a metaphysics of morals: “That there must be such a philosophy is evident from the common idea of duty and of moral laws.” The moral law must “carry with it absolute necessity.”
Learn about Kant's arguments on moral principles, reason, and Enlightenment era thinking in this study guide. Find summaries, analysis, and quotes from Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, published in 1785.
A short summary of Immanuel Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals.
Feb 23, 2004 · The most basic aim of moral philosophy, and so also of the Groundwork, is, in Kant’s view, to “seek out” the foundational principle of a “metaphysics of morals,” which Kant understands as a system of a priori moral principles that apply the CI to human persons in all times and cultures.
Published in 1785, Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals ranks alongside Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics as one of the most profound and influential works in moral philosophy ever written.
