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Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785; German: Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten; also known as the Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals, and the Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals) is the first of Immanuel Kant's mature works on moral philosophy and the first of his trilogy of major works on ethics alongside the Critique of Practical Reason and The Metaphysics of Morals. It remains one of the most influential in the field. Kant conceives his investigation as a work of foundational ethics—one that clears the ground for future research by explaining the core concepts and principles of moral theory, and showing that they are normative for rational agents.

Author

Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten

1785

Kant proposes to lay bare the fundamental principle of morality and show that it applies to us. Central to the work is the role of what Kant refers to as the categorical imperative, which states that one must act only according to maxims which one could will to become a universal law. Kant argues that the rightness of an action is determined by the principle that a person chooses to act upon. This stands in stark contrast to the moral sense theories and teleological moral theories that dominated moral philosophy at the time of Kant's career.


The Groundwork is broken into a preface, followed by three sections. Kant begins from common-sense moral reason and shows by analysis the supreme moral law that must be its principle. He then argues that the supreme moral law in fact obligates us. The book is famously difficult, and it is partly because of this that Kant later, in 1788, decided to publish the Critique of Practical Reason.

Fundamental principles of the metaphysics of ethics

1938. The fundamental principles of the metaphysic of ethics, translated by . New York: D. Appleton-Century.

Otto Manthey-Zorn

Barnes & Noble Books

1949. "Metaphysical Foundations of Morals," tr. in The philosophy of Kant; Immanuel Kant's moral and political writings, edited by Carl J. Friedrich. New York: Modern Library.

Carl J. Friedrich

Robert Paul Wolff

1970. Kant on the foundation of morality; a modern version of the Grundlegung, translated with commentary by . Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253331714 (pbk).

Brendan E. A. Liddell

Warner A. Wick

1998. Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals, translated by , with an introduction by Christine Korsgaard. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62235-2, 0-521-62695-1.

Mary J. Gregor

2002. Groundwork for the metaphysics of morals, translated , edited by Thomas E. Hill, Jr. and Arnulf Zweig. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-875180-X.

Arnulf Zweig

2002. Groundwork for the metaphysics of morals, translated , with essays by J. B. Schneewind, et al. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09486-8, 0-300-09487-6.

Allen W. Wood

2005. , edited for easier reading by Jonathan F. Bennett.

Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals

2011. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals: A German-English Edition, edited and translated by and Jens Timmermann. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-51457-6.

Mary Gregor

2013. , two translations (one for scholars, one for students) in multiple formats, by Stephen Orr.

Groundlaying toward the Metaphysics of Morals

2019. 'Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals', edited and translated by Christopher Bennett, Joe Saunders and . Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198786191.

Robert Stern

Immanuel Kant bibliography

Kantianism

Pure practical reason

About the Groundwork

Groundlaying: Kant's Search for the Highest Moral Principle

public domain audiobook at LibriVox

The Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals

Modified texts and modern "translations" for easier reading (always consult the original translated source texts first)

Cureton, Adam; Johnson, Robert. . In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

"Kant's Moral Philosophy"