PH101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Categorical Imperative, Moral Agency, Institute For Operations Research And The Management Sciences
Document Summary
10:45 pm: the categorical imperative, the notion of an imperative. An imperative is an "objective principle" that informs maxims. It is determined by reason (and not inclination or desire) They thus constrain the will: hypothetical imperatives (hi) They "present the practical necessity of a possible action as a means to achieve something else which one desires" (396) Hence, his distinguish ends and means to achieve those ends. The end is what one desires, the means is the way in which one satisfies the desire. Thus his take the following form: "if you want to achieve x, you ought to do y: the categorical imperative (ci) It "presents an action as of itself necessary, without regard to other end" It is thus not contingently, but absolutely valid: the content of the categorical imperative. The content of the ci is not dependent on an agent"s individual ends. All it contains is "the universality of law as such"
