Reflections On Grounding For The Metaphysics Of Morals Essay

As Kant proposes it, the purpose of this book is that of “seeking out and establishing of the supreme principle of morality”. Form this we can see that Kant stresses the absolute and unconditional quality of morality, which is free from any specific contingencies or personal preferences. Kant further formulates the Categorical Imperative that our morality should be governed by: act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law, act in the way that you treat others only as ends rather than means, and all citizens are the authors and subjects of all laws only in the “kingdom of ends”. Kant argues that we are free only when we obey the Categorical Imperative, and using our autonomy and reason to make judgment about our moral principles that are universally valid. Kant believes that we as rational beings are capable of reasoning and acting upon reason.
I agree with Kant that moral principles must be valid for all rational beings in all circumstances. In this sense the Categorical Imperative is really a groundbreaking effort to explicitly set forth a universal law of morality. So if we follow the Categorical Imperative, we would agree that human life is sacred and should be protected, and can never be used to as means to achieve other purposes. Therefore, we would never allow the doctor to use Baby Theresa’s organs to save other children since human beings can never be used as means. It would also be   morally wrong to drop bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, I suspect the Categorical Imperative is only an ideal. Kant trust rational beings’ autonomy and assumes that all rational agents are able to judge whether an argument is moral or not through reason alone, but in reality few people can be free from the outside factors such as various incentives, temptations, and fears, and follow only those principles that could become the laws in the kings of ends. Moreover, Kant argues that all moral statement must...