The categorical imperative is one of the most widely known philosophical concepts. It was intruduced by the famous German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) in his very influencial work “Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals “ (1785) and was discussed in further detail in his “Critique of Practical Reason“(1788). But what is the categorical imperative now exactly?
Motivation
What Kant wanted to achieve is to formulate a universal law by which all rational agents, by which he is refering to humans, can act. It is supposed to ensure that every action we take is a morally justifyable action. Kant‘s definiton of rational is every being that is autonomous which means every being with the ability to make independent decisions considering all arguments availible. With this limitation he excludes animals from this rule since the preveiling opinion during his times was that animals are not self aware and have no freedom of thought. This law is universal and should be put above your personal gain, your temptations or anything else. While the words used by Kant make this concept seem very theoretical it is import to keep in mind that this law is supposed to be used in life which is the reason it was mostly covered in Kant‘s works that fit the category practical philosophy.
What does it say?
The most referenced definition of the categorical imperative is one from the “Critique of practical Reason“ :
“Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. “
This means that: All of your actions have to be consistent with a maxim which is a rule you set for yourself to live by. This maxim has to be chosen carefully so that it could in theory become a universal law that wouldn‘t do harm to anyone.
To many this may sound familiar beacause of what is commonly know as the “Golden rule“ which says “ Treat others the way you want to be treated“. While there is a similarity between these two they are not identical as the categorical imperative is a formal rule that is derived by Kant using logic and going from conclusion to conclusion while the Golden rule is merely a statistical observation that may stand true in most situations. Another difference between the two is that the golden rule implies that if you act a certain way towards someone else you will automatically receive that same behavoir. In contrast the categorical imperative leaves open whether your own beahavior will directly reflect onto yourself.
Application
Kant applied this concept to many different questions of practical philosophy. One example would be his stance on laziness on which he writes in his “Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals “:
“...he cannot possibly will that this should become a universal law of nature or be implanted in us as such a law by a natural instinct. For as a rational being he necessarily wills that all his faculties should be developed, inasmuch as they are given him for all sorts of possible purposes. “ If laziness was a universal law no person would do anything which is why no one can be in favour of this particular maxim being universal law. Therefore not developing your skills to the fullest extend possible is immoral and we as humans have the moral obligation to do so.
Conclusion
The categorical is a logically derived moral rule with the intention of being as universal as possible. Its essential statement is that one should act in a way that wouldn‘t be harmful if it became universal law.
