Term from German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), who claimed to derive morality – in the form of an imperative valid for all rational beings – from reason.
The general idea was that I may not act in ways that I cannot, without inconsistency, will that everyone else should act in too.
Suppose that to gain some advantage I make a promise, intending not to keep it: were I to will that everyone may break their promises, I would in effect be willing for the institution of promising to break down; in which case I could not use it as I originally tried to.
The imperative is categorical because not conditional on one’s own desires, like ‘If you want money, work hard’ (an imperative which Kant would call hypothetical). Problems arise in deciding when the categorical imperative does indeed apply, and whether hypothetical imperatives are really imperatives at all.
Also see: deontology
Source:
H J Paton, The Moral Law (1948); standard translation of Kant’s main relevant work
Table of Contents
- 1 Videos
- 2 Related Products
- 2.1 The Categorical Imperative: A Study in Kant's Moral Philosophy
- 2.2 Arrows, Structures, and Functors: The Categorical Imperative
- 2.3 Kant's Categorical Imperative
- 2.4 The Form of Practical Knowledge: A Study of the Categorical Imperative
- 2.5 Laws of Freedom: A Study of Kant's Method of Applying the Categorical Imperatives in the Metaphysik Der Sitten
- 2.6 The Categorical Imperative: A Study in Kant's Moral Philosophy, 5th Edition
- 2.7 Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation (Creative Marxism)
- 2.8 Dharma, The Categorical Imperative
- 2.9 The Categorical Imperative of a Confucian Evil Demon in America: A Compilation of Essays in Philosophy
- 2.10 The Categorical Imperative Guidebook
Last update 2020-06-17. Price and product availability may change.