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Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Moral


The central concept of Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of
Morals is the categorical imperative. "The conception of an objective principle,
in so far as it is obligatory for a will, is called a command (of reason), and
the formula of the command is called an Imperative." (Abbott, 30) An imperative
is something that a will ought or shall do because the will is obligated to act
in the manner in which it conforms with moral law. The categorical imperative
is an obligation by the will to act so that the action can be classified as a
universal law. When one acts in conformity with the universal law at all times,
they are following out the categorical imperative. This differs from the
hypothetical imperative in that the hypothetical imperative acts on the basis
that the will in the end will gain something (not a means to an end). The
categorical imperative is a means to an end, and the action to obtain......

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