Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals

Abstract

Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) is a seminal work in moral philosophy, serving as the first of his major ethical trilogy. Kant aims to elucidate the fundamental principle of morality and demonstrate its normative application to rational agents. Central to his argument is the categorical imperative, which posits that one should act solely according to universalizable maxims. Kant contends that an action’s moral rightness is determined by the principle motivating it, contrasting with prevailing moral theories of his time. The book, while notoriously challenging, is divided into a preface and three sections, and its complexity partly prompted Kant’s subsequent publication of the Critique of Practical Reason in 1788. – AI-generated abstract.