Definition of categorical imperative in US English:
categorical imperative
nounˈˌkadəˈɡôrəkəl əmˈperədiv
Philosophy (in Kantian ethics) an unconditional moral obligation which is binding in all circumstances and is not dependent on a person's inclination or purpose.
Example sentencesExamples
- Since only free action can have genuine moral worth, the categorical imperative must be not only the supreme imperative of reason, but also the supreme law of morality.
- Adorno even conceives of categorical imperatives in exactly the way Kant conceives of them, and they are connected to metaphysics, rather than epistemology, again as they are for Kant.
- People know what is right and submit to a Kantian categorical imperative - you have to do what you know is right.
- Kant gives at least four versions of the categorical imperative, but one is especially direct: Treat people as an end, and never as a means to an end.
- Though the advantages resulting from obedience to particular moral laws can be shown, the moral obligation itself is a categorical imperative, something that we feel but cannot explain.