Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals

Many philosophers have tried to determine what is and what is not moral. Immanuel Kant was one of the most influential moral philosophers in the eighteenth and nineteenth century with his work, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785). Kant rejects that positive or negative effects have any importance in the moral appraisal of human activity by rejecting the results or consequences of action as the foundation of moral judgments (Kant, 1785). We must instead rely on the Good Will to guide us. What exactly is this Will on which so much emphasis is placed, and how does it serve as the foundation for really moral behavior? In this paper I argue that Kant's ethical stance has been a major influence in Western civilization and will continue to be so.