Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (Paperback)

~ (Author), H. J. Paton (Translator) "THE only thing that is good without qualification or restriction is a good will..." (more)
Key Phrases: ordinary moral judgements, making universal law, material maxim, Formula of Autonomy, Formula of the End, Formula of the Kingdom of Ends (more...)

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"Clearly the finest single-volume introduction to Kant's ethics available in English." -- --Philosophical Review

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"This is a good translation of Kant's historically important though brief essay on the foundation of moral theory. Recommended for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students." Choice

"The new translation by the late Mary Gregor of Kant's classic work on moral theory ought to become the standard edition for both ethics and Kant courses." Ethics --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (December 30, 1964)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061311596
• ISBN-13: 978-0061311598
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #96,073 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Great Works in Moral Philosophy, March 1, 2004

By	ctdreyer (NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kant: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) (Paperback)

Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is probably the single most influential work of philosophical ethics since Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. While Kant himself considered this a sort of introduction to ethical thinking, it's come to be his most influential and widely read work on ethics. Despite its length--it's less than a hundred pages--this is a work of remarkable depth and intellectual insight.

This isn't an easy work, however. It needs to be read and re-read (and, I suppose, re-read) to be fully understood and appreciated. I've never found Kant as difficult and obscure as his reputation would suggest, but as a writer of philosophical prose he's certainly not the caliber of, say, Hume or Descartes. As many have noted, Kant is the first great philosopher of the modern era to have been an academic, and it shows. He writes long, meandering sentences, and the organization of his works leaves quite a bit to be desired. Furthermore, his penchant for arcane terminology and architechtonic can make his work seem more forbidding than it is. Still, Kant's ideas in the Groundwork, while subtle and sometimes elusive, are profound and original, and this book is a must-read for anyone interested in philosophical ethics. I should also note that the importance of this book isn't solely historical since there has been a recent resurgence of Kantian moral thinking in the English-speaking world.

Kant's aim in the Groundwork is to discover the fundamental principle of morality. In the first section he attempts to derive this fundamental principle from ordinary moral thought. In particular, he attempts to derive this principle from considerations concerning what is unconditionally good. Kant claims that the only thing that is unconditionally good is a good will. Moreover, its goodness is not a matter of the results of acting on a good will; it is good in itself. As a matter of fact, Kant claims that the results of an action done with a good will and the aims and inclinations of the agent with the good will are morally insignificant.

What, then, is it to act with a good will? It is, Kant argues, a matter of doing one's duty for duty's sake, regardless of one's feeling and the results of doing so. What is it to act from duty's sake? It is to act from principles that accord with the fundamental principle of morality. And here we get the first formulation of the fundamental principle of morality: act only on maxims that you can consistently will to be universal laws. In other words, if one is unable to will the principle of one's action to become a universal law, the action is morally impermissible.

In the second section of the Groundwork Kant attempts to draw the same conclusion from some philosophical points about the nature of duty. He begins by claiming that our knowledge of our duty is a priori and based on the exercise of reason. He then argues that facts about our duties are necessary facts, and that this shows that they must be based on a categorical imperative: that is, that our duties apply to us insofar as we are rational beings, irrespective of the contingent aspects of their nature. And, Kant argues, the one categorical imperative is the fundamental principle of morality mentioned above. He then applies this principle to some examples in order to display just how it grounds our duties in particular cases.

The rest of the second section is filled with lots of interesting, albeit abstruse, ideas. First, Kant attempts to ground the categorical imperative in something that is of unconditional worth. What is that something? The existence of rational beings, which, he says, is an end in itself. And this leads to a second formulation of the categorical imperative: (ii) act only in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in the person of yourself or someone else, as an end and never merely as a means.

This section also includes a third formulation of the categorical imperative: (iii) act only on maxims that you could will to become universal laws legislated by your own will. This formulation encapsulates Kant's claim that we can achieve autonomy only by acting in accordance with the moral law. Conformity with the moral law does not constrain our freedom since we legislate the moral law for ourselves. The moral law is not forced on us from without; its source is to be found in our own rational nature. Indeed, it is only by acting morally that we are able to achieve genuine freedom by transcending the contingent desires and inclinations that are beyond our control.

Of course, that doesn't come close to summing up the Groundwork. But it's a start.

Gregor's translation of Kant's text is fairly clear. She does her best to render Kant's work in readable English prose, and she usually succeeds in this endeavor. I also think Kant's main ideas come through pretty well in this translation. Moreover, this is likely to become something like the standard edition of Kant's Groundwork in the future, since this translation is the one that appears in the Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for teaching Kant, November 22, 2003

By	J. Davenport "author of *Will as Commmitment ... (Maplewood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Kant: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) (Paperback)

This new edition of the *Groundwork* is excellent for undergraduate teaching purposes; the introduction by Korsgaard is very helpful on several points, including her distinction between the purposes or objects ('materials') of our intentions and the maxims or principles on the basis of which we formed these intentions. [The trouble is that Kant unfortunately does not use the word "intentions" but sometimes also uses "maxims" for that concept as well, which generates much confusion]. Professor Korsgaard also gives an excellent explanation of Kant's critique of sympathy or Rousseauian natural pity as the motive that makes for a good will. I only wish more was said about the 2nd-order nature of the 'goal' of the good will, namely assuring that we pursue our other 1st-order purposes in ways that are fair or just to all. However, the introduction includes a shortened and simplified version of several key insights in Korsgaard's published essays. Moreover, the text itself is smoother in many places than the Paton translation in the Harper Torchbook edition. I recommend trying this book to any teacher still using the old Harper edition.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cornerstone of Modern Ethical Thinking, October 30, 2005

By	B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

'Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals' by Immanuel Kant is easily the most important work devoted exclusively to thinking about morality in the history of Philosophy, especially considering it's size.

The cornerstone of the work, and the end result of Kant's analysis is the categorical imperative which says that a moral law are only those for which you can state should be true of all people.

In one fell swoop, Kant marginalizes all thinking about relativism in morality and at the same time distinguishes moral from religious thinking.

If you pair this up with St. Paul's statements in his letter to the Romans (3:19-28) which states strongly that adherance to the law has virtually nothing to do with salvation, it should make things pretty clear to all concerned.

Unfortunately, things are rarely that simple. As important as Kant's conclusion is, it is necessary but not sufficient for a complete analysis of morality.

One excuse may be that this work is really Kant's version of 'Cliff Notes' to his moral argument. His full presentation comes in the 'Critique of Practical Reason', which, however, is not often read.

Note that contrary to another review of this edition, the translator and commentator is the noted Kant scholar of 70 years ago, H. J. Paton.

To people who are not used to reading philosophy, I will not hide the fact that Kant is tough going. He may not be quite as tough as Hegel, the Existentialists, or the ancient Greeks, but he is definitely harder to understand than any modern nonfiction book I can think of.

The biggest argument against the 'Groundwork' and the categorical imperative is usually the fact that it does not rule out trivial rules, such as 'you must always eat a starch at least once a day'. This rule is physically possible for anyone living anywhere in the world, yet it is certainly not a moral law. It is not even a very good dietary law, but that's neither here nor there. A second argument is that Kant's argument seems a bit circular, when he says that the only thing which unqualifiedly good is a good will.

For anyone who has been vexed by moral questions, an honest reading of this work will at the very least give you hope that with the right amount of thought, one can make sense of moral issues.

A truly great book.