1785 Books (Study Guide) - 1785 Novels, the 120 Days of Sodom, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, the Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (Paperback)

This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: 1785 Novels, the 120 Days of Sodom, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, the Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 1785 in Literature. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Groundwork of the Metaphysic(s) of Morals (German: , 1785), also known as Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals or Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals, is Immanuel Kant's first contribution to moral philosophy. It argues for an a priori basis for morality. Where the Critique of Pure Reason laid out Kant's metaphysical and epistemological ideas, this relatively short, primarily meta-ethical, work was intended to outline and define the concepts and arguments shaping his future work The Metaphysics of Morals. However, the latter work is much less read than the Groundwork. The Groundwork is notable for its explanation of the categorical imperative, which is the central concept of Kants moral philosophy. The Groundwork is broken into a preface, followed by three sections. Kant's argument works from common reason up to the supreme unconditional law, in order to identify its existence. He then works backwards from there to prove the relevance and weight of the moral law. The third and final section of the book is famously obscure, and it is partly because of this that Kant later, in 1788, decided to publish the Critique of Practical Reason. The categorical imperative is the centrepiece of the Groundwork. Although it may seem superficially similar to the Golden Rule, it is in no way equivalent. The Golden Rule demands that one's actions conform to one's own standard, whereas Kant's moral imperative places the standard for moral good in reason (directly contradicting Hume, who claimed reason could not be a ground for moral choices). He states that peo...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=235875