Kant argues that no consequence can have fundamental moral worth; the only thing that is good in and of itself is the Good Will. The Good Will freely chooses to do its moral duty. That duty, in turn, is dictated solely by reason. The Good Will thus consists of a person’s free will motivated purely by reason.
What does Kant mean by acting from duty?
Paton outlines Kant’s formal principle of duty as follows: “An action done from duty has its moral worth, not from the results it attains or seeks to attain, but from a moral principle or maxim- the principle of doing one’s duty whatever that duty may be”(20).
What is an example of acting from duty?
One example that Kant talks about is a shopkeeper who does not overcharge his customers. We can say that this person has a duty to charge a fair price to all customers. Now, if the shopkeeper only does this because he doesn’t want to lose business, then he is acting in accord with duty but not out of duty.