Kant: the Universal Law Formation of the Categorical Imperative
Kantian philosophy outlines the Universal Law Formation of the
Categorical Imperative as a method for determining morality of actions. This
formula is a two part test. First, one creates a maxim and considers whether the
maxim could be a universal law for all rational beings. Second, one determines
whether rational beings would will it to be a universal law. Once it is clear
that the maxim passes both prongs of the test, there are no exceptions. As a
paramedic faced with a distraught widow who asks whether her late husband
suffered in his accidental death, you must decide which maxim to create and
based on the test which action to perform. The maxim "when answering a widow's
inquiry as to the nature and duration of her late husbands death, one should
always tell the truth regarding the nature of her late husband's death" (M1)
passes both parts of the Universal Law Formation of the Categorical Imperative.
Consequently, according to Kant, M1 is a moral action.
The initial stage of the Universal Law Formation of the Categorical
Imperative requires that a maxim be universally applicable to all rational
beings. M1 succeeds in passing the first stage. We can easily imagine a world in
which paramedics always answer widows truthfully when queried. Therefore, this
maxim is logical and everyone can abide by it without causing a logical
impossibility. The next logical step is to apply the second stage of the test.
The second requirement is that a rational being would will this maxim to
become a universal law. In tes ...