Categorical imperative

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Immanuel Kant
Major works Critique of Pure Reason Prolegomena to​ Any Future Metaphysics "Answering the​ Question: What Is Enlightenment?" Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals Critique of Practical Reason Critique of Judgment Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason Perpetual Peace The Metaphysics of Morals "On a Supposed Right to Tell Lies from​ Benevolent Motives" Opus Postumum
Kantianism • Kantian ethics Transcendental idealism Critical philosophy Sapere aude Thing-in-itself Schema A priori and a posteriori Analytic–synthetic distinction Noumenon Category Categorical imperative Hypothetical imperative "Kingdom of Ends" Political philosophy
People J. G. Fichte G. W. F. Hegel David Hume F. H. Jacobi Arthur Schopenhauer Baruch Spinoza
Related topics German idealism Neo-Kantianism
Category •  Philosophy portal

The categorical imperative (German: kategorischer Imperativ) is the central philosophical concept in the deontological moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Introduced in Kant's 1785 Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, it is a way of evaluating motivations for action. It is best known in its original formulation: "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law."^[1]

According to Kant, rational beings occupy a special place in creation, and morality can be summed up in an imperative, or ultimate commandment of reason, from which all duties and obligations derive. He defines an imperative as any proposition declaring a certain action (or inaction) to be necessary.^[2] Hypothetical imperatives apply to someone who wishes to attain certain ends. For example, "I must drink something to quench my thirst" or "I must study to pass this exam."^[3] The categorical imperative, on the other hand, commands immediately the maxims one conceives which match its categorical requirements, denoting an absolute, unconditional requirement that must be obeyed in all circumstances and is justified as an end in itself, possessing intrinsic value beyond simply being desirable.

Kant expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the popular moral philosophy of his day, believing that it could never surpass the merely conditional command of hypothetical imperatives: a utilitarian says that murder is wrong because it does not maximize good for those involved, but this is irrelevant to people who are concerned only with maximizing the positive outcome for themselves.^[4] Consequently, Kant argued, hypothetical moral systems cannot determine moral action or be regarded as bases for legitimate moral judgments against others, because the imperatives on which they are based rely too heavily on subjective considerations. He presented a deontological moral system, based on the demands of the categorical imperative, as an alternative.