K

Kant, Immanuel (1724–1804) German philo-
sopher

Immanuel Kant was born, lived, and died in Königs-
berg, eastern Prussia. He studied science, history, and
philosophy at the University of Königsberg from 1740
to 1747 and, after working as a private tutor for sev-
eral years, served as a Privatdozent(a lecturer paid by
the students who attended his lectures) at the univer-
sity until 1770. That same year, Kant was appointed
professor of logic and metaphysics by the university,
where he taught until 1796. Although Kant published
several works as a young scholar, his most important
writings appeared in his middle and later years. In
1781, he published the Critique of Pure Reason,which
had a major impact on epistemology and metaphysics
during his lifetime as well as throughout the MODERN
period. Kant’s subsequent publications attempt to
work out the implications of his critical analysis of
human reason for the areas of aesthetics, morality, and
politics.
In the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals
(1785), Kant presented his basic moral theory, arguing
that the only thing that is unconditionally good is a
good will. According to Kant, a person who acts with a
good will acts on the basis of neither the desires that

influence the action nor the consequences that result

from it, but instead on the recognition that the action

is obligatory or necessary. This means that the person

acts in accord with what Kant calls the categorical

imperative, which can be formulated as “Act only on

that maxim that you can, at the same time, will that it

should be a universal law,” that is, a law that everyone

should obey. Kant’s categorical imperative represents a

form of deontological ethical theory (from the Greek

deon,meaning “duty”), which is the view that defines

right actionin terms of obligations and duties rather

than the consequences or results of an action. This is

in contrast to teleological ethical theories (from the

Greek telos,meaning “end” or “goal”), which hold that

the best consequences or results determine the right-

ness of an action. Kant believed that an action willed

from the categorical imperative is done with a neces-

sary view to treating all persons, including ourselves,

as ends in themselves and not merely as means to

other ends. Only in this way is it possible to respect

the intrinsic freedom, equality, autonomy, and dignity

of human beings.

In several later essays, Kant sought to clarify the

relationship of his moral theory to political practice. In

the famous essay “On the Common Saying: This May

be True in Theory, But It Does Not Apply in Practice,”

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