Immanuel Kant: Foundations of Moral Philosophy and Ethics

Immanuel Kant: Life and Philosophical Context

Immanuel Kant was born in 1724 in Königsberg, the capital of East Prussia. He attended the local university, where he studied academic philosophy, the rationalism of Wolff, and Newtonian physics. Demonstrating comprehensive, encyclopedic training, he taught various subjects, including logic and mathematics. He was eventually appointed professor of philosophy in his home city, thanks to his Dissertation, a work that anticipated themes later developed in the Critique of Pure Reason. In 1790, he published his final critique, the Critique of Judgment, which aimed to establish a synthesis of his previous critical works. Kant died in Königsberg in 1804.

The Practical Use of Reason: Ethics

Human beings do not live by knowledge alone. Beyond the theoretical use of reason, we also engage in its practical use. Consequently, we must answer two fundamental questions: "What must I do?" and "What can I expect if I do what I ought?" The answers are found in the Critique of Practical Reason and the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.

The Value of Humanity

Kant's ethical contribution not only laid the foundations for later philosophy but also shifted the approach to moral philosophy entirely. Science and knowledge are meaningless if they do not help make our behavior more human, authentic, and moral. Jean-Jacques Rousseau significantly influenced Kant's interest in ethics. Known for a highly ordered and routine life, Kant was famously late for his classes only twice: once during the French Revolution and again when he first read the works of Rousseau.

Traditional Ethics and Practicality

What truly matters are the questions of practicality.

Material Ethics

Kant critiques "material" ethics—those that provide a list of rules or precepts—for two primary reasons:

• Empirical Nature: They are based on experience, telling us what to do or avoid to achieve specific goals. These are governed by hypothetical imperatives, which command actions based on desired outcomes.
• Heteronomy: They are heteronomous because the will is determined by principles originating from external sources rather than pure reason.

For Kant, these features make material ethics unacceptable. A truly human ethics must be universal and independent, which is only possible through a rational, formal approach.

The Maturity of Man

Kant rejects material ethics because they are not suitable for a mature human being. True emancipation requires an autonomous ethics, where the individual determines the moral law themselves.

Formal Ethics

Formal ethics lack specific content; they do not tell us what to do, but rather how to act. Kant formulates this through the Categorical Imperative, also known as the principle of universality. Accordingly, we must treat others as human beings with inherent dignity. For Kant, acting ethically means acting unselfishly, out of respect and love for duty.