Kant identified categorical imperative as the foundational principle of morality. He formulated this categorical imperative in different ways. One of his two main formulations develops the "What if everyone did that?" question. The other main formulation of categorical imperative develops the idea that morality does not permit you to use people. .
Kant's ethics is grounded in the distinction between hypothetical imperatives and categorical ones. By hypothetical imperatives, he means imperatives that tell you what you must do in order to get or do something you happen to desire. Categorical imperatives, on the other hand, tell us what to do regardless of our desires. Kant thought that unless there is something that can supply an answer, morality is a sham (Rosenstand, 223). He thought we aren't responsible for our desires and preferences. And if these desires and preferences completely determine our behavior, then we can't really be held responsible for that behavior either.
Kant offers three versions of the categorical imperative on which all moral commands are based. The first states, "Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a universal law of nature" (Ming, Online). The second says, "Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but at the same time as an end" (Ming, Online). And finally the third command says, "So act as if you were through your maxims a law-making member of a kingdom of ends" (Ming, Online).
Kant said that people only become corrupt if they refused to follow the categorical imperative (Rosenstand, 231). And according to Kant, one does not question categorical imperatives because they are fundamental truths of the universe (Rosenstand, 224). His categorical imperative gives an individual a more reliable system by which to judge his actions. The test begins with intentions rather than consequences.
