Ethics and Values / Unit 5 Ethics 207 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Golden-Rule Misreading
Captions available
The idea
The categorical imperative is not the Golden Rule: universalizability tests what could be law for all, not what the agent would personally prefer done to himself.
In practice
Kant's own counterexample: a convict could tell the judge "you wouldn't want sentencing either." The law-for-all test hears that appeal and stays unmoved by it.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
- Nothing yet depends on this.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Ethics and Values