Philosophy- Moral Rightness
...were to go along with Kant though, that would mean that every single time I did any action, besides minor bodily movements, I had thought it through, believed it to be a universal law, and that that is how I would respond to that certain act or situation every time. This also is part of the categorical imperative. So, what is this categorical imperative? It is broken down into three parts. First, Immanuel Kant believes to “act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” I’ll break this down a little bit. First, a maxim describes a general act. It is not an act-token, meaning a certain act X performed by person P at time T. It is a situation with a type of action for that situation. One thing about a maxim though is that once you act in that way in that situation, you always act that way in that situation. Second, when you “will” something you are testifying how that act should be a universal law. Fred Feldman distinguishes the difference between the every day wish and the more serious will: “a person might wish that there would be peace everywhere in the world. Yet knowing that it is not within his power to bring about this wished-for state of affairs, he might refrain from willing that there be peace everywhere in the world.” Willing is sometimes looked upon as committing yourself to making your action happen. Third, a universal law describes how all people should act in certain situations. The second part of Kant’s categorical imperative is labeled “Humanity as an End in Itself.” In this he states to “act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply as a means. . .” An end can stand by itself. It is used to determine validity. The means determine its probability. In this part, the will is determined by comparing certain laws with the action. Finally, “The Autonomy of the Will as Universal Legislator” is the last section. Kant believes that “all maxims are rejected which are not consistent with the will’s own legislation of universal law.” It is said that everyone must judge themselves and their actions by the way that they act and only perform maxims that fit in with themselves. You have to decide your own universal law. We can now conquer the question at hand, which is deciding whether in order for an act to be right if everyone has to act that same way in similar circumstances. Let’s take a look at some examples. First, you are an employee at a department store. You do not like your hours, so you confront your boss about a change. He denies your request and this infuriates you. You end up quitting the job. Yo...