Kant's philosophy - The moral law: The categorical imperative

Through our reason we give ourselves a moral law. The categorical imperative is expressed in three formulas by Kant, whose wording is very different but which have the same spirit. The most well known of them says that we should only act according to such a maxim through which we can want for it to become a universal law. And this means simply that a person should be consistent and in unity with himself, instead of self-contradicting and allowing himself what he would forbid others.Quote: 0:08Kant's teachings on the categorical imperative are often misunderstood: 0:17There are three different formulas of the categorical imperative: 12:05The objective-formal formula of the categorical imperative: 26:25The type of the moral law: 31:41Homo phaenomenon and homo noumenon: 51:05The inconsistency and double standards of evil people: 1:07:46The categorical imperative is for acting what the principle of contradiction is for thinking and crimes happen for the same reason as errors: 1:27:46Kant's moral principle is a merely formal one: 1:48:34Material moral principles can only lure or threaten: 2:07:00We don't ought to do what's good, rather what we ought to do is good: 2:14:01Thanks: 2:26:36The imperatives according to Kant: https://jonathanivoloewer.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/imperatives-according-to-Kant.jpgThe categorical imperative is at the center of Kant's writings on moral philosophy. Its three formulas can be found and are explained in the Groundworks to the Metaphysics of Morals: https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/kant1785.pdf. The categorical imperative as well as the type of the moral law are also described in the Critique of Practical Reason: https://www.bard.edu/library/arendt/pdfs/bc_Arendt_Kant_CritiquePracticalReason.pdf. I reccomend also reading Kant's handwritten estate on moral philosophy: http://korpora.org/kant/aa19/ (I am not aware of any English translation) along with those two texts, which includes many reflections on the categorical imperative as well as various wordings of it.Whoever wants to support my aufkläring work can do so via:https://ko-fi.com/jonathanivoloewerhttps://www.patreon.com/jonathanivoloewerhttps://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=VDDT7T7XHR77UThumbnail: www.hotpot.ai