Date of Award

1-1-2018

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School/Department

Department of Philosophy

Content Description

1 online resource (ii, 67 pages)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Jon Mandle

Committee Members

Jon Mandle, Rachel Cohon

Keywords

Categorical Imperative, Immanuel Kant, Kantian Ethics, The equivalence question, the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, The Principle of Humanity, Humanity

Subject Categories

Philosophy

Abstract

This paper emphasizes the central role of the Formula of Humanity in Kantian ethics. It focuses mostly on Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, with hypotheses being tested on Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals as well. It starts with an analysis of the argument Kant offers for the Formula of Humanity in Groundwork II, explicating the meaning of this formula and its distinction from the Formula of the Universal Law. It further develops on comparing all the formulations of the categorical imperative, and it argues that not all formulations are equivalent. It concludes that the categorical imperative is exhausted by the Formula of Humanity, insofar as the latter generates all Kantian duties.

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