Kant And Maxim Analysis
As explained in lecture the first formulation of the categorical imperative is, “Act only in accordance with that maxim that you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.” First off, what does it mean to say, “Will as a universal law?” This means that you must ask yourself two questions. The first being whether you can consistently conceive of everyone acting on your maxim in all possible circumstances, and the second question being to ask yourself whether you can will everyone acting on your maxim in all possible circumstances. But if you don’t know the meaning of a maxim, then you can’t fully understand what these two questions are asking of you.
A maxim is defined by Kant as what you intend to do and why. Kant explains this …show more content…
It’s the same idea as anti-egoism. You are being selfless out of duty, because it is not your duty to necessarily help the homeless or the poor, but you do it out of the good of your own heart. But if someone was an egoist which is someone who thinks only of themselves and wants to only benefit themselves and not worry about other people then their maxim was that people should only help themselves because it is in their own self-interest. For example, if someone is driving down a desolate road and their car breaks down and they’re an egoist than they would want someone to help them, but if their maxim was that everyone should only think of themselves, if another person driving down the road saw them they would not stop to help because it would not be in their own self-interest to help because they are an egoists. So the world would not look kindly on this maxim because if you answer the questions Kant purposes to “Will as a universal law” then everyone everywhere in the world would be egoistic under all circumstances and the world would be a very dark and cynical place where people are only looking out for themselves.
I like the way Kant thinks about this categorical imperative, on the other hand I can’t find a maxim that would work in everyone’s interest and under every
A maxim is defined by Kant as what you intend to do and why. Kant explains this …show more content…
It’s the same idea as anti-egoism. You are being selfless out of duty, because it is not your duty to necessarily help the homeless or the poor, but you do it out of the good of your own heart. But if someone was an egoist which is someone who thinks only of themselves and wants to only benefit themselves and not worry about other people then their maxim was that people should only help themselves because it is in their own self-interest. For example, if someone is driving down a desolate road and their car breaks down and they’re an egoist than they would want someone to help them, but if their maxim was that everyone should only think of themselves, if another person driving down the road saw them they would not stop to help because it would not be in their own self-interest to help because they are an egoists. So the world would not look kindly on this maxim because if you answer the questions Kant purposes to “Will as a universal law” then everyone everywhere in the world would be egoistic under all circumstances and the world would be a very dark and cynical place where people are only looking out for themselves.
I like the way Kant thinks about this categorical imperative, on the other hand I can’t find a maxim that would work in everyone’s interest and under every