Abstract
This chapter presents a philosophical discussion of Immanuel Kant's Formula of Universal Law as an alternative to consequentialist reasoning. It first considers one version of Kant's Formula of Universal Law, known as the Impossibility Formula, which says it is wrong to act on maxims that could not be universal laws. It then examines Onora O'Neill's revised version of Kant's formula, that is: it is wrong to act on any maxim whose being successfully acted on by some people would prevent some other people from successfully acting on it. According to O'Neill, this formula condemns deception and coercion, since those who deceive or coerce others thereby ‘guarantee that their victims cannot act on the maxims they act on’. The chapter also explores Kant's Law of Nature Formula, Permissibility Formula, and Moral Belief Formula before concluding with an analysis of the notion that the agent's maxim determine whether some act is wrong.
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