Kants Ethical Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kants Ethical Theory - Essay Example He rejects the belief of dogmatic philosophers like Leibniz and his followers that human reason could acquire knowledge of supersensible entities. Kant was more comfortable with the notion of secular morality and eschewed the idea propounded by Leibniz that religion was essential to establishing social order. Metaphysics, according to Kant, could not provide empirical evidence of the supersensible, like God. Kant’s disciples, such as Fichte, used his work as a springboard for German idealism, and he quickly condemned such for being too radical. The difference between autonomy and heteronomy is that an autonomous will is self-legislating while a heteronomous will is one where the acts of the self are directed by external rules. According to Kant, if an action is to be considered as genuine, then it should emanate from the self, or should be the result of autonomous will. Kant’s formulation of the categorical imperative is as follows: â€Å""Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." This means that when an individual decides to act a certain way as dictated by his autonomous will, he must aspire that such action will be the universal norm and that he is setting a rule for others to follow in the future.