Philosophy 100: Introduction to Philosophy Kant C. Fox
Kant’s Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
1. Some terminology, very roughly defined:[1] (where p is any proposition at all)
p is necessary iff p must be true
p is possible iff p could be or can be true
p is contingent iff both p and its negation are possible (p could be true or false)
p is true a priori iff p can be known non-empirically
p is true a posteriori iff p can only be known by experience
p is analytic iff p is true in virtue of the meanings of the words in which its formulated
p is synthetic iff neither p nor its negation is analytic
2. Some examples:
“Snow is white,” is contingent, a posteriori, and synthetic.
“All brothers are male,” is necessary, a priori, and analytic.
“Every person has a mother,” is necessary, a posteriori, and synthetic.
“I (CF) exist,” is contingent, a priori, and synthetic
3. Classify the following:
“If Juan is taller than Craig, then Craig is not taller than Juan.”
“Bob is taller than Juan.”
“If the Cubs beat St. Louis, then the Cubs beat St. Louis.”
“A cube has 12 edges.”
“Every effect has a cause.”
“7+5=12”
“Murder is wrong.”
“Cats are cats.”
“Given a line a and a point not on that line, only one line can be drawn parallel to a through that point.”
“Superman=Clark Kent.”
4. More terminology:
means-the resources used to accomplish something
end-the aim(s) or goal(s) of one’s doing something
maxim-a formulation of what one is doing and why one is doing it
imperative-a command to do something
categorical imperative-an imperative that applies to everyone
hypothetical imperative-an imperative that only applies to some
5. Some more exercises:
Is each of the following an maxim or an imperative?
(Indicate if the imperative is hypothetical.)
“Write your paper.”
“Write your paper if you want.”
“I did my paper in order to get a good grade.”
“All lovers of learning should read the Grounding.”
“I gave the money back because I would want somebody to do the same, if I lost money.”
“Give the money back.”
Is each of the following an end or a means?
-Money
-Happiness
-Cleverness