3 - The Deep Structure of the Moral Law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 November 2025
Summary
This chapter provides an analysis of Kant’s categorical imperative. It shows (a) that the first formulation of the categorical imperative is action-guiding; (b) that properly understood, the contradiction in conception test in the Formula of Universal Law reveals contradictions in maxims of murder and mayhem; (c) that Kant is justified in his claim that each of the principal formulations of the categorical imperative – the Formula of Universal Law (FUL), the Formula of Ends in Themselves (FEI), and the Formula of the Kingdom of Ends (FKE) “unites the other two in it” (4:436). I show why these three formulations can be understood as intentionally equivalent. This is accomplished through a close reading of Kant’s four examples. Understanding how FUL exposes a contradiction in maxims of suicide holds the key to why the three formulations can be considered intentionally equivalent. This intentional equivalence is based on the idea of autonomy at the basis of each formulation. The different formulations share an intentional core; the distinct features of each formulation are analytically developed out of this intentional core.
Keywords
FUL as action-guidingcriteria for moral actionlaw for the causality of the willmeans-ends relationFormula of Ends in ThemselvesFormula of the Kingdom of Endsintentional equivalence of three main formulationsautonomytranscendental freedommaxims of murder and mayhemmaxim of suicidemaxim of false promising
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- Kant's Metaphysics of the WillFreedom, Reason, and the Moral Law, pp. 55 - 76Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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