Kant’s moral philosophy asks whether an agent’s principle can be justified as a universal law and whether it respects persons as ends. Moral worth also concerns acting from duty, rather than merely producing a fortunate result. The atlas uses these themes to examine deception, promises, and the limits of beneficial sacrifice.
Kantian ethics concerns the authority of moral principles for rational agents, including their relation to inclination and self-interest. A good outcome does not alone establish that a maxim is acceptable. The agent must also consider whether the principle can be universally authorized and whether people are treated with respect as ends. This framework helps explain why deception can be objectionable before we calculate its effects: it interferes with another person’s ability to choose on informed terms.