We need a moral philosophy based on pure reason and freed from empirical grounds (like self-interest or social approval) -- because
We need a moral philosophy based on pure reason and freed from empirical grounds (like self-interest or social approval) -- because
Self-interest and social approval can lead us to do wrong.
But there are other reasons why we need such a pure moral philosophy.
We need a moral philosophy based on pure reason and freed from empirical grounds (like self-interest or social approval) -- because
Empirical theories teach us lower motives like self-interest or social approval. The highest moral motive is to do the right thing simply because it's right.
But there are other reasons why we need such a pure moral philosophy.
We need a moral philosophy based on pure reason and freed from empirical grounds (like self-interest or social approval) -- because
Suppose that our duty to do good to others depended on a sympathy-instinct. Then a being without this instinct would be freed of the duty -- and a being with a hatred-instinct would have a duty to hate.
This is nonsense. We'd have a duty to help others even if our instincts and other empirical factors were different.
But there are other reasons why we need such a pure moral philosophy.
We need a moral philosophy based on pure reason and freed from empirical grounds (like self-interest or social approval) -- because
Thus we need a "metaphysics of morals" -- an exposition of the purely a priori principles of morality.