From Immanuel Kant (Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, 1785) and W. D. Ross (The Right and the Good, 1930).
Judges an action by the duties and rules it keeps or breaks, testing whether its principle could apply to everyone and whether it uses anyone merely as a means.
When to reach for it
Something about a decision feels wrong even though its results justify it, or it touches consent, honesty, or promises made.
How it runs
- State the action: what, by whom, and to whom.
- Write the principle behind it as a general rule.
- Ask whether everyone could act on that rule.
- Ask whether it treats anyone merely as a means.
- List the duties at stake and resolve conflicts among them.
- Compare with other ethical lenses before deciding.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, 1785
- The Right and the Good, Oxford University Press, 1930