The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics
Immanuel Kant · English
The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics is the opening of Kant's Doctrine of Virtue, the second part of his Metaphysics of Morals (1797), in the English…
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Pagera Editor's Note
The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics is the opening of Kant's Doctrine of Virtue, the second part of his Metaphysics of Morals (1797), in the English translation of Thomas Kingsmill Abbott. This short text contains the preface and the long introduction rather than the full treatment of particular duties. Kant explains how ethics differs from law, introduces the idea of ends that are at the same time duties, namely one's own perfection and the happiness of others, and discusses duties of virtue, moral feeling, conscience, love of others, respect and self-command. It closes with a brief passage on conscience as an inner court.
The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics
Immanuel Kant · English
The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics is the opening of Kant's Doctrine of Virtue, the second part of his Metaphysics of Morals (1797), in the English…
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Original (English)
If there exists on any subject a philosophy (that is, a system of rational knowledge based on concepts), then there must also be for this philosophy a system of pure rational concepts, independent of any condition of intuition, in other words, a metaphysic. It may be asked whether metaphysical elements are required also for every practical philosophy, which is the doctrine of duties, and therefore also for Ethics, in order to be able to present it as a true science (systematically), not merely a
Pagera Editor's Note
The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics is the opening of Kant's Doctrine of Virtue, the second part of his Metaphysics of Morals (1797), in the English translation of Thomas Kingsmill Abbott. This short text contains the preface and the long introduction rather than the full treatment of particular duties. Kant explains how ethics differs from law, introduces the idea of ends that are at the same time duties, namely one's own perfection and the happiness of others, and discusses duties of virtue, moral feeling, conscience, love of others, respect and self-command. It closes with a brief passage on conscience as an inner court.
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