Immanuel Kant's Moral Philosophy: The Good Will, Duty, and the Categorical Imperative

Kant's Moral Philosophy: The
Will, Duty, and the Categorical
Imperative
The Will and Morality:
Will:
According to Kant, the faculty of acting according to a conception of law.

Control:
The morality of actions doesn't depend on outcomes (often beyond our control) but on the will
behind the action.

Motivation:
Morality must be assessed in terms of motivation.
- Example: Smith and Jones perform the same act from the same conception of the law, but
Smith fails due to uncontrollable events. Both are on equal moral ground in terms of will.



The Good Will:
Intrinsic Good:
The only thing good without quali cation is a good will.

Other Goods:
Courage, health, and wealth can be used for ill purposes and thus are not intrinsically good.
Happiness requires a good will to be worthy.

Independence of Outcome:
Misfortune may prevent achieving goals, but a good will remains good.



Acting from Duty:
Impulse vs. Duty:
Goodness can't arise from acting on impulse or natural inclination; it must come from duty.
- Example: A shopkeeper doesn’t overcharge a child. If done to avoid o ending customers,
it's not morally good. If done from duty, it is morally good.




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