Question

. What is an imperative, in Kant’s philosophy? What is the difference between hypothetical and categorical imperatives? Into which category does he think moral demands fall, and why?

Answer 1

Answer.

In his moral philosophy, Immanuel Kant develops moral Imperatives which are instructions that tell us what to do. Kant distinguished between two types of imperative:

He called any action based on desires a hypothetical imperative, as it is a command of reason that tells us what to do if one desires the goal in question. on the other hand, categorical imperative refers to  a moral law that is unconditional or absolute for all agents, whose the validity does not depend on any ulterior motive. Kant gives two forms of the categorical imperative: Behaviour which corresponds to a universal rule that will lead to a benefit to a generic person and to treat others as ends and not means. Moral values thus fall within categorical imperatives as they prescribe the judgement of a right action based on the intrinsic goodness of a moral act rather than personally held positions and values as the latter would be based on evaluation of personal goals and desires rather than universal principles.