The Primacy of Duty: Exploring the Central Motive in Kant’s Moral Philosophy

Abstract

This article examines the concept of duty and its moral motive as expounded in Immanuel Kant’s ethical theory. Explores how duty operates independently of inclination and how moral worth is determined exclusively by the motive of duty. The motive of duty lies in the good will of the actor. Kant mentions three propositions regarding duty. The first proposition is based on the principle of duty for duty’s sake. Here, the motive of action is the most important consideration. What is the source of an action’s moral excellence? And that comes from a formal principle or maxim, which is the subject of the second proposition. And the third proposition is reverence for the moral law. Moral law is the objective principle, there is no exception. So, the moral motive is manifested through duty for the sake of duty in respect of moral law.