Chapter 12 Summary

Kant argues that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by the principle that motivates it and not by any consequences that might follow from it. A morally valid principle is one that can serve as a universal law, applicable to all at any time or in any place, without resulting in a contradiction. Such a principle is “categorical” (as opposed to “hypothetical”); it enjoins an action that is good of itself and not merely as a means to another end. Because humanity, in oneself or in others, is of absolute worth, Kant is able to give the categorical imperative a second formulation: “So act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means.”