Vol. 7 — October 2026
Cover of Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals

Immanuel Kant · English

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, published in German in 1785 and often known in English as the Groundwork, is Immanuel Kant's short…

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Pagera Editor's Note

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, published in German in 1785 and often known in English as the Groundwork, is Immanuel Kant's short foundational work on ethics. Kant argues that the only thing good without qualification is a good will, and that an action has moral worth only when it is done from duty. He distinguishes hypothetical from categorical imperatives and formulates the categorical imperative: act only on a maxim you can will as a universal law, and treat humanity always as an end, never merely as a means. In three sections the argument moves on to autonomy and freedom. This is Thomas Kingsmill Abbott's translation.

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