Abstract

I argue that the Formula of Humanity, the principle that we should always treat the humanity of a person as an end in itself and never as a mere means, is a principle of pure practical reason. Insofar as that principle is also the fundamental grounds of morality, it follows, then, that all autonomous rational agents are committed to morality.

Highlights

  • According to Kant’s Formula of Humanity, the second formulation of his Categorical Imperative, we should always treat the humanity of persons as an end in itself and never a mere means

  • Insofar as the FH is the fundamental principle of morality, it follows that it must be itself a principle of pure practical reason

  • The FH is claimed to have a peculiar set of features: Unlike specific requirements like not killing the innocent or deceiving another for one’s own amusement, the FH is sufficiently general to be the foundation of all of morality; unlike purely formal principles of reason, such as the principle to always do what one has most reason to do and even the instrumental principle to take the necessary means to one’s intended ends, the FH is substantive; and unlike, for example, principles of etiquette, the FH is constitutive of rational agency as such

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Summary

Introduction

According to Kant’s Formula of Humanity, the second formulation of his Categorical Imperative, we should always treat the humanity of persons as an end in itself and never a mere means. If we set aside the fact that it is morally wrong to use Grey in this manner without her consent, Earthquake and Means are on a par, as “In both [cases], either White will die or Grey will lose her leg.

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