Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals: Kant's Foundational Work on Ethics, Duty, and Moral Reason

Kant, Immanuel

ISBN 10: 1515436861 / ISBN 13: 9781515436867

Published by A & D Publishing, 2018

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals: Kant's Foundational Work on Ethics, Duty, and Moral Reason
• Publisher: A & D Publishing
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1515436861
• ISBN 13: 9781515436867
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals is one of the central texts of modern moral philosophy and a defining statement of Immanuel Kant's ethical thought. First published in 1785, the work sets out Kant's attempt to ground morality not in custom, inclination, religious command, or practical advantage, but in reason itself. In concise and rigorous form, Kant develops the argument that moral obligation rests upon principles that must be universal, rational, and binding for every free and responsible being.

The treatise introduces and explains Kant's famous categorical imperative, his distinction between acting in accordance with duty and acting from duty, and his influential account of human beings as ends in themselves rather than merely means to another end. Though brief, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals has had an immense influence on ethics, political philosophy, legal theory, religious thought, and modern debates about autonomy, dignity, freedom, and moral responsibility. It remains essential reading for students of Kant, Enlightenment philosophy, deontological ethics, moral reasoning, and the history of Western thought.

About the Author

Immanuel Kant was one of the most important philosophers of the Enlightenment and a central figure in the history of Western philosophy. Born in Königsberg, Prussia, in 1724, Kant spent nearly his entire life in that city, where he studied, taught, and wrote works that transformed modern thought. His philosophy sought to examine the limits and powers of reason, the nature of human knowledge, the foundations of moral obligation, and the relation between freedom, duty, and rational self-government.Kant's major works include Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason, Critique of Judgment, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, and Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals. His moral philosophy, especially his account of the categorical imperative and the dignity of rational beings, remains foundational for ethics, political theory, legal philosophy, religious thought, and modern discussions of autonomy and human rights. Kant's influence extends across German idealism, analytic philosophy, continental philosophy, theology, aesthetics, metaphysics, epistemology, and the continuing study of Enlightenment philosophy.