Explain Kant’s cases of persons who do what moral law requires but not out of sense of duty for the moral law.

1. Explain Kant’s cases of persons who do what moral law requires but not out of sense of duty for the moral law. (Pages 8-11)

2. Kant discusses four cases where a certain maxim fails the first categorical imperative, at least in some way. Explain Kant’s reasoning in at least two of the four cases. (Pages 24-28)

IMPORTANT: Your exploration paper must be self-contained in the sense that you should not assume of that your reader is familiar with these readings. So for example, in addressing 2 above, you need tell your reader what the first categorical imperative is and what a maxim is. It’s on you, as it were, to do all the explaining. When you write, be continually asking yourself: “Okay if my reader doesn’t know anything about Kant, would what I just wrote make any sense to them?”

3. For the second part of your exploration paper you’re going to thoughtfully and critically engage with Kant’s views here. Some questions you might want to engage:
Is Kant right that actions have moral worth unless they’re done with a sense of duty or respect for the moral law? Why or why not?
Can you think of a maxim which for which it is possible to coherently or consistently will to become a universal law of nature of any rational being to abide by and yet you think the it would be wrong to act on the maxim? If so what’s the maxim? What consequences does this have for Kant’s system?

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