Critique of Practical Reason

Kant proposes a “method of pure practical reason” (121), by which he means a plan for applying his principles of practical reason to education and everyday life. Based on conversations held between people from different walks of life, Kant believes that the best way to persuade people to strive toward fulfillment of the moral law is through debates over the good or evil behavior of other people. However, instead of focusing solely on people of exceptional virtue, Kant argues that such lessons must come from “observance of common and everyday obligation” (124). Elaborating on the point, Kant remarks that morality is clear through “common human reason” (124). He gives the example of Anne Boleyn, falsely accused of adultery by King Henry VIII, who refuses to lie about what happened, even though she would be rewarded for doing so, and is instead executed because of her refusal.

Lessons concerning moral duty are more compelling and instructive for Kant than stories with “melting, tender feelings or high-flown, puffed-up pretensions” (125). Kant suggests that feelings are not reliable vehicles for moral lessons because they only have an impact when “they are at their height and before they calm down” (125). Instead, it is better for people to learn through principles that emerge out of concepts that are seen being practiced in people’s lives and decisions. This is because emotions emerge out of temporary and conditional inclinations while duty is based on a fixed and objective sense of moral law.

Kant admits there are degrees in which people judge moral duties that are enacted in people’s lives. Someone on a sinking ship who acts to save others or someone who sacrifices their life for the sake of their country may be rightfully praised. However, Kant does not think either case ever receives as much esteem as someone who acts not out of concern for their own welfare and those of others, but against a “transgression […] which violates the moral law in itself” (126). Also, any moral action that is “mixed” (127) with self-love and feeling is similarly less esteemed. Instead, people need to let themselves be guided into moral action by observation of nature and by their own reason. From there, students should be encouraged through moral examples to understand their freedom and their ability to choose moral duty over self-love and emotional impulses. Overall, a moral education is successful when the student develops awareness of their freedom and the responsibility that comes with it and thus starts to fear being looked down upon by the people around them.