Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals Quotes

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Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant
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Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals Quotes Showing 1-30 of 65
“Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.”
Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals/On a Supposed Right to Lie Because of Philanthropic Concerns
“Have the courage to use your own reason- That is the motto of enlightenment.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“A good will is good not because of what it effects, or accomplishes, not because of its fitness to attain some intended end, but good just by its willing, i.e. in itself; and, considered by itself, it is to be esteemed beyond compare much higher than anything that could ever be brought about by it in favor of some inclinations, and indeed, if you will, the sum of all inclinations. Even if by some particular disfavor of fate, or by the scanty endowment of a stepmotherly nature, this will should entirely lack the capacity to carry through its purpose; if despite its greatest striving it should still accomplish nothing, and only the good will were to remain (not of course, as a mere wish, but as the summoning of all means that are within our control); then, like a jewel, it would still shine by itself, as something that has full worth in itself".”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“Innocence is a splendid thing, only it has the misfortune not to keep very well and to be easily misled.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“Enlightenment is man's release from his self incurred tutelage.
Tutelage is man's inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another.
Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another.
" Have courage to use your own reason" that's the motto of enlightenment .”
Immanuel Kant , Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“if adversity and hopeless grief have quite taken away the taste for life; if an unfortunate man, strong of soul and more indignant about his fate than despondent or dejected, wishes for death and yet preserves his life without loving it, not from inclination or fear but from duty, then his maxim has moral content.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“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.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“Nothing can possibly be conceived in the world, or even out of it, which can be called good, without qualification, except a good will.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals
“If now we attend to ourselves on occasion of any transgression of duty, we shall find that we in fact do not will that our maxim should be universal law, for that is impossible for us; on the contrary, we will that the opposite should remain a universal law, only we assume the liberty of making an exception in our own favor or (just for this time only) in favor of our inclination. Consequently, if we considered all cases from one and the same point of view, namely, that of reason, we should find a contradiction in our own will, namely, that a certain principle should be objectively necessary as a universal law, and yet subjectively should not be universal, but admit of exceptions. As, however, we at one moment regard our action from the point of view of a will wholly conformed to reason, and then again look at the same action from the point of view of a will affected by inclination, there is not really any contradiction, but an antagonism of inclination to the precept of reason, whereby the universality of the principle is changed into mere generality, so that the practical principle of reason shall meet the maxim half way. Now, although this cannot be justified in our own impartial judgement, yet it proves that we do really recognize the validity of the categorical imperative and (with all respect for it) only allow ourselves a few exceptions which we think unimportant and forced from us.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“...[P]hysics... [is] the philosophy of nature, so far as it is based on empirical laws.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“To behold virtue in her proper form is nothing else but to contemplate morality stripped of all admixture of sensible things and of every spurious ornament of reward or self-love. How much she then eclipses everything else that appears charming to the affections, every one may readily perceive with the least exertion of his reason, if it be not wholly spoiled for abstraction.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“The will is conceived as a faculty of determining oneself to action in accordance with the conception of certain laws. And such a faculty can be found only in rational beings.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“It is impossible to conceive anything at all in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good without qualification, except a good will.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“Inexperienced in the course of world affairs and incapable of being prepared for all the chances that happen in it, I ask myself only 'Can you also will that your maxim should become a universal law?' Where you cannot it is to be rejected...”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“What is more, we cannot do morality a worse service than by seeing to derive it from examples. Every example of it presented to me must first itself be judged by moral principles in order to decide if it is fit to serve as an original example...even the Holy One of the gospel must first be compared with our ideal of moral perfection before we can recognize him to be such.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“...I am never to act otherwise than so that I could also will that my maxim should become universal law.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“In the physical constitution of an organized being, that is, a being adapted suitably to the purposes of life, we assume it as a fundamental principle that no organ for any purpose will be found but what is also the fittest and best adapted for that purpose. Now in a being which has reason and a will, if the proper object of nature were its conservation, its welfare, in a word, its happiness, then nature would have hit upon a very bad arrangement in selecting the reason of the creature to carry out this purpose. For all the actions which the creature has to perform with a view to this purpose, and the whole rule of its conduct, would be far more surely prescribed to it by instinct, and that end would have been attained thereby much more certainly that it ever can be by reason. Should reason have been communicated to this favored creature over and above, it must only have served it to contemplate the happy constitution of its nature, to admire it, to congratulate itself thereon, and to feel thankful for it to the beneficent cause, but not that it should subject its desires to that weak and delusive guidance, and meddle bunglingly with the purpose of nature. In a word, nature would have taken care that reason should not break forth into practical exercise, nor have the presumption, with its weak insight, to think out for itself the plan of happiness and the means of attaining it. Nature would not only have taken on herself the choice of the ends but also of the means, and with wise foresight would have entrusted both to instinct.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“...in its practical purpose the footpath of freedom is the only one on which it is possible to make use of reason in our conduct. Hence it is as impossible for the subtlest philosophy as for the commonest reasoning to argue freedom away.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“Ni en el mundo, ni, en general, tampoco fuera del mundo, es posible pensar nada que pueda considerarse como bueno sin restricción, a no ser tan sólo una buena voluntad.”
Inmanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“Thus he has two standpoints from which he can consider himself...: first, as belonging to the world of sense, under the laws of nature (heteronomy), and, second, as belonging to the intelligible world under laws which, independent of nature, are not empirical but founded only on reason.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“...[M]an and generally any rational being exists as an end in himself, not merely as a means to be arbitrarily used by this or that will, but in all his actions, whether they concern himself or other rational beings, must always be regarded at the same time as an end... [R]ational beings... are called persons, because their very nature points them out as ends in themselves, that is, as something which must not be used merely as means, and so far therefore restricts freedom of action (and is an object of respect).”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“...[T]here is no art in being intelligible if one renounces all thoroughness of insight; but also it produces a disgusting medley of compiled observations and half-reasoned principles. Shallow pates enjoy this because it can be used for everyday chat, but the sagacious find in it only confusion, and being unsatisfied and unable to help themselves, they turn away their eyes, while philosophers, who see quite well through this delusion, are little listened to when they call men off for a time from this pretended popularity in order that they might be rightfully popular after they have attained a definite insight.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“[It] is nevertheless better than the theological concept, of deriving morality from a divine, all-perfect will, not merely because we do not intuit this perfection, but can derive it solely from our concepts, of which morality is the foremost one, but because if we do not do this (which, if we did, would be a crude circle in explanation), the concept of his will that is left over to us, the attributes of the desire for glory and domination, bound up with frightful representations of power and vengeance, would have to make a foundation for a system of morals that is directly opposed to morality.”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
“[A man] finds himself forced by necessity to borrow money. He knows that he will not be able to repay it, but sees also that nothing will be lent to him unless he promises stoutly to repay it in definite time. He desires to make this promise, but he has still so much conscience as to ask himself: Is it not unlawful and inconsistent with duty to get out of a difficulty in this way? Suppose, however, that he resolves to do so, then the maxim of his action would be expressed thus: When I think myself in want of money, I will borrow money and promise to repay it, although I know that I never can do so. Now this principle of self-love or of one's own advantage may perhaps be consistent with my whole future welfare; but the question now is, Is it right? I change then the suggestion of self-love into a universal law, and state the question thus: How would it be if my maxim were a universal law? Then I see at once that it could never hold as a universal law of nature, but would necessarily contradict itself. For supposing it to be a universal law that everyone when he thinks himself in a difficulty should be able to promise whatever he pleases, with the purpose of not keeping his promise, the promise itself would become impossible, as well as the end that one might have in view in it, since no one would consider that anything was promised to him, but would ridicule all such statements as vain pretenses.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“Obra siempre por tal máxima, que puedas querer al mismo tiempo que su universalidad sea ley”
Inmanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“Cuanto más viene a ocuparse una razón cultivada del propósito relativo al disfrute de la vida y la felicidad, tanto más alejado queda el hombre de la verdadera satisfacción.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamentación de la metafísica de las costumbres
“the cultivation of reason leads humanity sooner to misery than happiness”
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals: With an Updated Translation, Introduction, and Notes
“[A man], who is in prosperity, while he sees that others have to contend with great wretchedness and that he could help them, thinks: What concern is it of mine? Let everyone be as happy as Heaven pleases, or as he can make himself; I will take nothing from him nor even envy him, only I do not wish to contribute anything to his welfare or to his assistance in distress! Now no doubt, if such a mode of thinking were a universal law, the human race might very well subsist, and doubtless even better than in a state in which everyone talks of sympathy and good-will, or even takes care occasionally to put it into practice, but, on the other side, also cheats when he can, betrays the rights of men, or otherwise violates them. But although it is possible that a universal law of nature might exist in accordance with that maxim, it is impossible to will that such a principle should have the universal validity of a law of nature. For a will which resolved this would contradict itself, inasmuch as many cases might occur in which one would have need of the love and sympathy of others, and in which, by such a law of nature, sprung from his own will, he would deprive himself of all hope of the aid he desires.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
“Duas coisas enchem o ânimo de admiração: o céu estrelado acima de mim, e a lei moral dentro de mim; ambas não estão fora do meu horizonte; antes, vejo-as perante mim e religo-as imediatamente com a consciência de minha existência. A primeira começa no lugar que eu ocupo no mundo e no exterior. A segunda começa no meu invisível eu, na minha personalidade e me coloca num mundo que tem a verdadeira infinidade; o que eleva infinitamente o meu valor como inteligência na qual a lei moral me revela uma vida independente da animalidade de todo mundo sensível.”
Immanuel Kant, Fundamentação da Metafísica dos Costumes

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