Immanuel Kant: 4 ideas worth knowing

4 ideas from Immanuel Kant, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

Act only as you'd will for everyone
In 1785, Kant proposed a single test for moral action: act only according to a rule you could will to become a universal law for everyone. Lying, he argued, fails instantly — a wor…
— Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
You can never know the world as it really is — only how it appears to you
In the Critique of Pure Reason (1781), Immanuel Kant argued the mind doesn't passively record reality; it actively structures raw sensation using built-in categories like space, ti…
— Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason
Kant: only act on a rule you'd want everyone else to follow too
Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative says an action is only moral if you could will its underlying rule to become a universal law for everyone. Lying fails the test: if everyone …
— Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
'Dare to know' -- one essay defined what it means to think for yourself
Answering a magazine's question in 1784, Immanuel Kant defined enlightenment as humanity's escape from 'self-incurred immaturity' -- not a lack of intelligence, but a lack of coura…
— Immanuel Kant, An Answer to the Question: What Is Enlightenment?

Five ideas worth knowing, every week