John O. Andersen

"Always act that the immediate motive of thy will may become a universal
rule for all intelligent human beings."
--Immanuel Kant, 18th Century German Philosopher

A categorical imperative is an absolute, or unqualified obligation of all
people.

My interpretation of Kant's quote:

We must ensure our immediate or primary motive for action is one that all
mankind would do well to emulate. Is our motive to impress others? If so,
then perhaps we shouldn't act. Is our motive to make someone else look bad?
If so, then we shouldn't act.

On the other hand, if building up another is our immediate motive, then we
should act.

People who follow the Categorial Imperative do good for the right reasons;
not because of a promised reward, or fear of punishment, but rather because
doing good is it's own reward. Admittedly, sometimes to reach that state of
consciousness, we school ourselves with systems of reward and punishment.
However, we mustn't forget that in human development, such systems are only
scaffolding. At some point, we must remove the scaffolding in order to
reveal the true edifice: a mature human being whose actions stem from
rational and pure motives.


John Andersen
Uncoventional Ideas at http://unconventional.go.to
Themestream Articles
http://www.themestream.com/gspd_browse/browse/view_by_tag.gsp?auth_id=34436
Read about the Andersen family travels:
http://www.spiritone.com/~andersen/travel.html