Kant
Categorical imperative originator
Kant refers to Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), the German philosopher whose work transformed Western thought.
His *Critique of Pure Reason* examined the limits of human knowledge, while his moral philosophy centered on the categorical imperative—the idea that ethical rules must be universalizable.
Kantian describes ideas derived from his work: Kantian ethics, a Kantian approach to justice.
In philosophy departments, invoking Kant signals engagement with questions of epistemology, morality, and metaphysics at their most foundational.
Necessary truths that expand knowledge
- phenomenaObservable facts or events
- noumenaReality independent of observation
- categoriesGroups of related things
- understandingMental comprehension of something
intuition · sensibility · knowledge · experience · cognition · judgment · perception · representation
Unconditional ethical obligation
- dutyRequired moral task
- deontologyMorality based on obligations
- moral lawCode of right conduct
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
maxim · goodwill · obligation · ends · means · practical reason · virtue · justice
German absolute idealist philosopher
- FichteGerman idealist philosopher
- SchopenhauerGerman pessimist philosopher
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- KönigsbergHistoric Baltic port city
transcendental · prolegomena · categorical · modern philosophy
Self-contradicting rational conclusions
- cosmologyStudy of universal structure
- GodSupreme spiritual authority
- soulInnermost animating essence
- freedomAbsence of constraint
causality · substance · necessity · contingency · constitutive · ontology · existence · being
Aesthetic excellence
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
- tasteFlavor perception ability
- disinterestedFree from personal stakes
- purposivenessGoal-oriented quality
genius · fine art · imagination · feeling · pleasure · harmony · free play · aesthetic judgment
synthetic a priori
Necessary truths that expand knowledge
- phenomenaObservable facts or events
- noumenaReality independent of observation
- categoriesGroups of related things
understanding · intuition · sensibility · knowledge · experience · cognition · judgment · perception · representation · schema
categorical imperative
Unconditional ethical obligation
- dutyRequired moral task
- deontologyMorality based on obligations
- moral lawCode of right conduct
autonomy · maxim · goodwill · obligation · ends · means · practical reason · virtue · justice · right
Hegel
German absolute idealist philosopher
- FichteGerman idealist philosopher
- SchopenhauerGerman pessimist philosopher
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
Königsberg · transcendental · prolegomena · categorical · modern philosophy
antinomies
Self-contradicting rational conclusions
freedom · causality · substance · necessity · contingency · constitutive · ontology · existence · being
beauty
Aesthetic excellence
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
- tasteFlavor perception ability
- disinterestedFree from personal stakes
purposiveness · genius · fine art · imagination · feeling · pleasure · harmony · free play · aesthetic judgment · natural beauty
- FilosofiNietzsche, Hegel, Marx, Spinoza, Locke
- Enlightenment ThinkersLocke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hume, Diderot
- EthicistsAristotle, Bentham, Mill, John Stuart Mill, Hume
- philosophersAristotle, Plato, Socrates, Descartes, Nietzsche
- German EnlightenmentMendelssohn, Wolff, Leibniz, Frederick the Great, religious tolerance
- Kantian Philosophycategorical imperative, a priori, a priori knowledge, noumena, phenomena
KantDavid Hume
Scottish Enlightenment philosopher
empiricism · John Locke · empiricist · George Berkeley · Francis Bacon
KantJohn Stuart Mill
British empiricist and reformer
utilitarianism · consequentialism · Epicurus · hedonism · Ayn Rand