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Kant's Universalizability

moralpanic March 24, 2019 at 01:30 3025 views 8 comments
Hello,

Per the first formulation, Is Kant saying we are to universalize the action or the will? I suppose the proper way to word this question should be: Is the maxim the action itself or the will?

My professor is not intrigued by this question the way I am. He says it's the action - which is the same as the will. It's not that I don't get his point - it's perfectly logical. Yet still, my intuition is thinking there is more to this. I can't help but think that in some instances, framing the universalization in the way of the will as opposed to the action might change the way we think about it.

Comments (8)

Mww March 24, 2019 at 02:35 #268033
Reply to moralpanic

I really do hate to rain on your parade, but there’s nothing in your post that passes a Kantian test. Never mind all the morality issues, because.....well..... intuitions don’t think. Just using that expression doesn’t bode well for your making any sense of transcendental moral philosophy.

Action or the will? Neither.
Action itself or the will? Neither.

You have the reference material. Make some popcorn, ditch the social media junk.....have fun.
moralpanic March 24, 2019 at 04:10 #268058
I'm doing keto - I can't have popcorn.
Deleteduserrc March 24, 2019 at 04:14 #268059
Quoting moralpanic
Yet still, my intuition is thinking there is more to this. I can't help but think that in some instances, framing the universalization in the way of the will as opposed to the action might change the way we think about it.


This seems like a legitimate worry. I htink the best way to draw out what you're feeling is to give an example where one of the two (action, will) would be engaged, but the other of the two wouldn't be.
fdrake March 24, 2019 at 05:18 #268072
Reply to moralpanic

The first sign of being addicted to philosophy is doing it while you're in a k-hole. The second sign is doing philosophy when you're not in a k-hole.
Echarmion March 24, 2019 at 06:24 #268077
Quoting moralpanic
Is the maxim the action itself or the will?


I'd say the maxim is the personal principle according to which the will is formed. It takes the form of a law, which is why it can be universalized as a law.
moralpanic March 24, 2019 at 07:36 #268082
Thank you all. I appreciate it much. :)
moralpanic March 24, 2019 at 07:39 #268083
Reply to fdrake

I said keto, not ketamine. LOL
fdrake March 24, 2019 at 14:40 #268183
Reply to moralpanic

Forgive me.