CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

 It is the ultimate rational principle of

morality
 it is the morality of the human act based
on rules or duty
 an act is moral if it is done fro the sake
of duty
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

 Only reason in its practical use leads to an

absolute necessity and universal law of
actions of rational beings.

 Human persons are deemed as acting

morally only when they act rationally based
on practical reason.
PRACTICAL REASON

 begins with principle(i.e. reason),

proceeds then to understanding, and
finally to the senses.
MORALITY

 Is the strict obedience to the categorical

imperative
 Entails a commitment to the absolute
command, that is, an obligation to the law as
such
MORALITY

 Everyone must admit that law, if it is to hold

morally, must imply absolute necessity.

 Absolute necessity
- Means that the law must be all-encompassing,
devoid of any exceptions, and binding to all
rational beings
MORALITY

 Anything that is deemed “necessary” always

holds a constant truth across all possible
circumstances.

 Only when the human person acts in

accordance with the absolute command that
she can claim her actions to be morally right