Analyze the passage - Essay Example

The has discussed the notion of duty in this passage. According to him, duty should not be ive but objective. Individuals perform duties according to their own inclinations and dispositions. They value their own actions highly, so they will that the actions should become universal laws. But some actions are not worthy of being considered as universal laws .If we transgress from a duty, we do not wish that our action should be considered as law, but we allow the opposite of it to be a law. We take the liberty of treating our action as an exceptional case.

Whatever is deduced on the basis of human actions can be a maxim at the most, but not a law. On the other hand, some actions of people can become universal laws from the objective point of view but not from the subjective point of view. If we regard our action first from the point of subjective inclination and then from the perspective of conformity to reason, we do not find a contradiction; we are led to realize the validity of the categorical imperative. The writer concludes that if duty has to be a practical and unconditional necessity of action and account for the legislative authority it can only be expressed in terms of categorical imperatives.

If there is any such thing as an a priori notion of duty which is absolute, it must cover the willing and inclination of all human beings. They should conform to reason. Such duty is intrinsic and sublime and its validity gets diminished if it is dictated by subjective inclinations or natural dispositions.The reasons that the writer gives do support his point to a great extent. The writer’s views are important because everyone has certain duties and obligations in life. Our duties must conform to reason and we should not be liberal and compromising regarding our personal inclinations.