False Negatives of the Categorical Imperative

• Autores: Richard McCarty
• Localización: Mind, ISSN-e 1460-2113, Vol. 124, Nº. 493, 2015, págs. 177-200
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The categorical imperative can be construed as a universalization test for moral permissibility. False negatives of the categorical imperative would be maxims failing this test, despite the permissibility of their actions; maxims like: ‘I’ll withdraw all my savings on April 15th’. Examples of purported false negatives familiar from the literature can be grouped into three general categories, and dispatched by applying category-specific methods for proper formulation of their maxims, or for proper testing. Methods for reformulating failing maxims, such as the addition of appropriate conditional clauses, do not generate false-positive counterexamples in other instances.