Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals

By I. Kant, Arnulf Zweig, T. E. Hill. 2002

Immanuel Kant's "Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals" is one of the most important texts in the history of ethics. In it Kant searches for the supreme principle of morality and argues for a conception of the moral life that has made this work a continuing source of controversy and an object of reinterpretation for over two centuries. This new edition of Kant's work provides a translation that seeks to be faithful to the German original and is fully annotated. There are also four essays by well-known scholars that discuss Kant's views and the philosophical issues raised by his work. J.B. Schneewind defends the continuing interest in Kantian ethics by examining its historical relation both to the ethical thought that preceded it and to its influence on the ethical theories that came after it; Marcia Baron sheds light on Kant's famous views about moral motivation; and Shelly Kagan and Allen W. Wood advocate contrasting interpretations of Kantian ethics and its practical implications.

Subfields: Philosophy

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Citations in the corpus

Artificial Intelligence, Values, and Alignment (2020, background): “For others, such as Kant and Schneewind (2002) or Smith (1994), substantive rationality converges around a set of universal ends that are largely synonymous with moral law.”
Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking (2012, unknown): “For one argument to the effect that rational thinking does hold a privileged position over these other processes, see Plato’s The Republic (2003) or Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1996).”
Successful U.S. Entrepreneurs: Identifying Ethical Decision-making and Social Responsibility Behaviors (2006, methodology): “systems of ethics provided by two ethics frameworks, Kant's (1964) basis for moral rights and Rawls' (1971) theory of distributive justice wherein justice is seen as fairness.”
Conceptual structure and social functions of behavior explanations: beyond person--situation attributions. (2000, background): “A number of philosophers have suggested that reasons contribute to the action’s moral worth, whereas enabling factors, such as intelligence or skill, do not (Foot, 1978; Kant, 1998/1785).”
Tool Learning with Foundation Models (2023, unknown): “However, this approach may also conflict with the widely accepted ethical principle that “human beings should be treated as ends in themselves, and not merely as means to an end” (Kant & Schneewind, 2002).”