Immanuel Kant: The categorical imperative

Even though Kant was not a representative of the Christian religion, he saw that the moral guidelines provided by this religion were essential for a good life and a healthy mind. But these maxims are not unique to Christianity. Every major religion comes with something similar to a handbook. Be it the Bible, the Torah, the Koran or the Bhagavad Gita. Kant recognized these overlapping values and summarized them in a generally applicable rule, the categorical imperative.

"Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time wish it to become a general law."

Immanuel Kant

For Immanuel Kant, the pursuit of morality and ethics was of great importance regardless of religious affiliation or belief. His concept of morality was not based on a religious foundation, but he recognized the essential moral guidelines that were present in various religions. Since he lived at the time of the Enlightenment, which was characterized by the emphasis on logic and science, less attention was paid to religions than had previously been the case in human history. It is therefore all the less surprising that this led Kant to develop the categorical imperative as a universal moral principle. A principle that applies not only to followers of a particular religion, but to everyone.

But even if he was not religious himself, he took his inspiration for his imperative from religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. They all offer a set of rules for a moral life. Kant regarded these as valuable, regardless of his personal religious beliefs. His recognition of the overlapping moral values in these different faiths was crucial to his conception of the categorical imperative. The categorical imperative, in its famous formulation "Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law", was Kant's attempt to establish a universally valid ethical principle. He proposed that actions should be based on a maxim that could be universalized without causing contradictions or conflicts.

Kant's imperative emphasizes that the morality of an action does not depend on specific circumstances or personal inclinations, such as religion. Rather, it depends on the universality of its maxim. This idea is reflected in many religious teachings, which are often based on principles such as compassion, justice and goodness.

The parallels between Kant's categorical imperative and the moral teachings of religions illustrate that ethical principles that guide human behavior are anchored in different contexts and belief systems. This underlines the universality of ethical considerations that transcend cultural and religious boundaries. Furthermore, it is exciting to see that different civilizations around the world have arrived at similar rules. At this point, we would like to briefly refer to Carl Gustav Jung, who must have come across similar facts in his reflections on the collective unconscious. After all, how else could mankind have developed such similar rules in their religions globally without contact with each other?

Kant argued that a morally good life does not depend exclusively on religious teachings, but on reason and an understanding of the general validity of moral actions. This idea provided a bridge between religion and philosophy and emphasized the importance of moral principles for human coexistence.

Ultimately, Kant's categorical imperative encourages us to critically reflect on our actions and decisions by asking ourselves whether the maxims we act upon could apply as a universal law for all. This reflection, regardless of religious affiliation, offers a path to a life of moral integrity and ethics based on universal principles of humanity.