A new translation of Immanuel Kant’s 1785 Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals in modern American English with the original German in the back. This is Volume V in the Complete Works of Kant from Newcomb Livraria Press. Kant’s 1785 Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals is the union of the Critique of Pure Reason and his theoretical Natural Philosophy. It is a work of pure moral philosophy, at least his clearest, and is an architectonic framework for ethical action. Here in Groundwork, we see the development of the "maxim" of an action, or the subjective principle of volition, critical to the intellectual project of the "Kategorischen Imperatives. Morality arises from the individual’s self-legislation of practical reason and is universal and normative for all rational agents. This raised a formidable moral theory against Hume and the English Empiricists who promoted moral sense and teleological moral theories and would dominate the Philosophic world for a century. Still today, the Categorical Imperative has not been discredited and remains a central concept in modern ethics."

Published in 1785, Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals ranks alongside Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics as one of the most profound and influential works in moral philosophy ever written. In Kant's own words, its aim is to identify and corroborate the supreme principle of morality, the categorical imperative. He argues that human beings are ends in themselves, never to be used by anyone merely as a means, and that universal and unconditional obligations must be understood as an expression of the human capacity for autonomy and self-governance. As such, they are laws of freedom. This volume contains Mary Gregor's acclaimed translation of the text into English, revised by Jens Timmermann, and an accessible, updated introduction by Christine Korsgaard.

Published in 1785, the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is one of the most powerful texts in the history of ethical thought. In this book, Immanuel Kant formulates and justifies a supreme principle of morality that issues universal and unconditional moral commands. These commands receive their normative force from the fact that rational agents autonomously impose the moral law upon themselves. As such, they are laws of freedom. This volume contains the first facing-page German-English edition of Kant's Groundwork. It presents an authentic edition of the German text and a carefully revised version of Mary Gregor's acclaimed English translation, as well as editorial notes and a full bilingual index. It will be the edition of choice for any student or scholar who is not content with reading this central contribution to modern moral philosophy through the veil of English translation.

First published in 2012. Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals is one of the small books which are truly great: it has exercised on human thought an influence almost ludicrously disproportionate to its size. In moral philosophy it ranks with the ‘Republic’ of Plato and the ‘Ethics’ of Aristotle; and perhaps— partly no doubt through the spread of Christian ideals and through the long experience of the human race during the last two thousand years—it shows in some respects a deeper insight even than these. Its main topic—the supreme principle of morality—is of the utmost importance to all who are not indifferent to the struggle of good against evil. Written, as it was, towards the end of the eighteenth century, it is couched in terms other than those that would be used today; but its message was never more needed than it is at present, when a somewhat arid empiricism is the prevailing fashion in philosophy.

Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals from 1785 is one of the most important and influential texts in the whole history of philosophy. Its central purpose is to develop the categorical imperative. The present collected volume contains papers on central theoretical aspects. Key Features: Contributions from leading international authorities in Kant research A reflection of the current state of research together with new aspects

"Published in 1785, Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals ranks alongside Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics as one of the most profound and influential works in moral philosophy ever written. In Kant's own words, its aim is to identify and corroborate the supreme principle of morality, the categorical imperative. He argues that human beings are ends in themselves, never to be used by anyone merely as a means, and that universal and unconditional obligations must be understood as an expression of the human capacity for autonomy and self-governance. As such, they are laws of freedom. This volume contains Mary Gregor's acclaimed translation of the work, sympathetically revised by Jens Timmermann, and an accessible, updated introduction by Christine Korsgaard"--