Ishan BhatnagarAIR 5 · CSE 2025 · 178 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening · a definition
This statement enshrines the Kantian categorical imperative of universalizability. It posits that only that action is moral if it could be undertaken by the moral community at large.
For instance, non repayment of loans is a moral wrong because the credit system would collapse if everyone did not pay their loans.
Implications →
Body · points and prose
Avoids the slippery slope of justifications and exceptions.
Enshures the "good of all" as part of ethics of assessing an action.
Appeals to universal reason.
Prevents grave injustice since it allows people to see the larger picture.
Procedural fairness for all - even Ajmal Kasab had right to fair trial and was executed only as per law.
An incomplete paradigm →
The other Kantian categorical imperative → "treat people as ends in themselves".
Difficulty looking at big picture →
Close · a way forward
Supplementary maxim → think of the person dearest to you → would you be happy if such treatment was meted out to them?
Hence, the Kantian imperative nudges us towards objective rationality, to be supplemented with ethics of care.