Dr Tom Kerns
North Seattle Community College
Study Questions
for
Immanuel Kant's
Fundamental Principles of the
Metaphysic of Morals
(A small numeral appears
at the end of each paragraph in the text to indicate which paragraph
it is)
-
Explain in your own words what
you understand Kant to be saying in paragraph #1 about a Good Will.
-
Explain
in your own words what you understand Kant to be saying in paragraph
#9 about the concept of acting “from
the motive of duty” rather
than from some other motive
-
Paragraphs
10-12 are Kant’s
illustrations of what he tried to say in paragraph
9.
a. Explain in your own words
what Kant is saying with his illustration in paragraph 10.
b. Explain
in your own words what Kant is saying with his illustration
in paragraph 11.
c. Explain in your own words
what Kant is saying with his illustration in paragraph
12.
-
In
paragraph 14 Kant says that what makes an action
good is not whether the action’s
purposes are attained
or not, but its goodness lies instead in “the principle
of volition by
which the action has taken place.” What do you think
he means by that?
-
In
paragraph 15 Kant says that “Duty
is the necessity
of acting
from respect for the
law.” What
do you understand
him to mean
by that?
-
Kant’s
main
conclusion is expressed
in
the first half of paragraph
18. What do you understand
him to be saying there?
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