KANT’s THEORY

1st Formulation of the Categorical Imperative:

“Act only on that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”

2. 2nd Formulation of the Categorical Imperative:

“Act always so as to treat humanity, whether in yourself or another, always as an end and
never merely as a means.”

3. Categorical Imperative:

Act only on that maxim which you can at the
same time will that it should become a universal law.

4. Contradiction in Conception (Kant):

Occurs when the very idea of everyone acting on a given maxim undermines the practice itself—e.g.,
making lying promises impossible if everyone lies.

5. Contradiction in the Will (Kant):

Occurs when an agent cannot will a maxim to be universal because doing so would conflict with something else the agent necessarily wills—e.g., a goal they rationally want.

Good Will:

A will that acts for the sake of duty, and is good in itself regardless of its outcomes.

7. Hypothetical Imperative:

A command that tells us what to do if we
have certain desires; it is conditional on the presence of those desires.

8. Imperfect Duty:

A moral obligation that should generally be followed but allows for flexibility in how and when it is fulfilled. Imperfect duties arise for Kant from maxims that give rise to a contradiction in the willing of a maxim as a universal. Kant finds that we have imperfect duties to develop our talents and to be beneficent (=to support the rational goals
of others).

9. Maxim:

A principle or rule underlying an action; used to assess moral worth in Kantian ethics.

10. Morality vs. Prudence (Kant's Ethics):

Prudence refers to actions taken for self-interest or desired ends. Morality, in contrast, involves
acting from duty, often against inclination or self-interest.

11. Perfect Duty:

A moral obligation that must always be followed and allows for no exceptions (e.g., duty not commit suicide). Perfect duties arise for Kant from maxims that give rise to a contradiction in the
conception of the maxim as a universal law. Kant finds that we have perfect duties not to commit suicide and not to make a lying promise.

12. Universalizability:

The idea that moral rules must apply to everyone;
an action is right only if its underlying maxim can be willed as a universal law without contradiction.

Universal Law:

A rule that everyone could follow without
contradiction; a requirement for moral permissibility in Kant's theory.