Kantianism
Categorical imperative philosophy
Kantianism is the philosophical tradition following Immanuel Kant, the 18th-century German philosopher.
Central tenets include the categorical imperative—act only according to principles you could will as universal laws—and the distinction between phenomena (things as we experience them) and noumena (things as they are).
Kantian ethics emphasizes duty and rational autonomy over consequences: Her Kantianism made her refuse to lie even when it would have helped.
Required moral task
- good-willFriendly, helpful attitude
- maximBrief moral principle
- obligationRequired task or commitment
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
dignity · intentions · unconditional · deontology · proscription · prescription · normative
Produced artificially, not natural
- analyticExamining by decomposition
- transcendentalBeyond ordinary experience
- noumenaReality independent of observation
- phenomenaObservable facts or events
categories · antinomy · understanding · intuition · sensibility · judgments · cognition · representation
Autonomous decision-making capacity
- self-governanceIndependent management of affairs
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- dignityInnate personal worth
Basis or justification
- KönigsbergHistoric Baltic port city
- cosmopolitanismBelief in shared humanity
- progressMovement toward improvement
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
Active knowledge-building theory
- O'NeillAmerican theater dramatist
- FichteGerman idealist philosopher
- SchopenhauerGerman pessimist philosopher
duty
Required moral task
- good-willFriendly, helpful attitude
- maximBrief moral principle
- obligationRequired task or commitment
autonomy · dignity · intentions · unconditional · deontology · proscription · prescription · normative
synthetic
Produced artificially, not natural
- analyticExamining by decomposition
- transcendentalBeyond ordinary experience
- noumenaReality independent of observation
phenomena · categories · antinomy · understanding · intuition · sensibility · judgments · cognition · representation · faculties
free-will
Autonomous decision-making capacity
- self-governanceIndependent management of affairs
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- freedomAbsence of constraint
reason
Basis or justification
- KönigsbergHistoric Baltic port city
- cosmopolitanismBelief in shared humanity
- progressMovement toward improvement
constructivism
Active knowledge-building theory
- O'NeillAmerican theater dramatist
- FichteGerman idealist philosopher
- SchopenhauerGerman pessimist philosopher
Kantianismconsequentialism
Ethics judging by results
utilitarianism · hedonism · moral relativism · sentimentalism · egoism
Kantianismempiricism
Knowledge through observation
naturalism · materialism · determinism · anti-rationalism · irrationalism