Immanuel Kant defines duty as the recognition of a moral obligation to do what is right, 100% of the time, regardless of what could come of it. Also, Kant states that in order for an act to be wholly moral, it must be carried out by a sense of duty. This type of obligation termed by Kant is called the “categorical imperative.” The categorical imperative, according to Kant, acts as a basis to which moral requirements stem from. The categorical imperative also equates to Catholicism’s’ “golden rule” in that they both call for treating human beings as ends, not as means.
Duty, according to Kant, has four motives, self-interest, self-preservation, sympathy, and happiness. Kant goes on to explain that we all have a sense of moral duty that is innate in us at birth. When we have feelings of guilt, this is the end result when we have done something that has infringed this moral duty. To Kant, to act moral is to obey the moral laws, which are in us at birth, which is our duty. For example, giving a beggar money for the soul purpose of getting he or she to leave you alone is not an example of a moral duty according to Kant. Instead, he believes that a more genuine example would be someone who gives the beggar money regardless of his or her own self interest, for a reason that does not benefit him or her in any way. If a person acts in a way that benefits others while also benefiting themselves, they are not acting truly moral according to Kant’s definition. For example, doctors help cure diseases and save human lives for profit. Although they save human lives, the fact that they profit off of that act makes it not wholly moral according to Kant.
Kant believes, under the categorical imperative, that all humans should be treated as ends, not means. By this, Kant explains that no person should be treated as means rather they should be ends in themselves. To Kant, it promotes