Kantianism

This article focuses largely on Immanuel Kant's . Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, in which Kant articulates several purportedly equivalent candidates for the fundamental moral principle, the Categorical Imperative. These formulations invoke, respectively, the ideas of universalization, respect for humanity, a kingdom of ends, and autonomy. Kant defends the authority of this principle, seeking to show that any rational agent must guide him- or herself by it. I also discuss Kant's later moral works in which he defends government authority, develops a theory of virtue, and argues that moral commitment leads the rational person to religious commitment.