Everyday we each face questions of what we ought to do. We sometimes ask ourselves,
"What if everyone did that?" Every time you decide to pick up a piece of trash because you want
the city to look nice, you are not doing it because of the aesthetic effect of one piece of trash, but
rather what the city would look like if no one picked up their trash.
Kant uses this everyday question in his system of morality as part of the categorical
imperative. For Kant, the morality of an action can be determined by the categorical imperative.
Kant would like to determine the morality of stealing, therefore Kant wants to examine the
morality of "I will steal anything I want to satisfy my desire for it". Then Kant rephrases the
statement to ask the question of what if everybody did it, "Everyone will steal anything they want
to satisfy their desire for it." Then Kant makes that statement a maxim, a law which must be
followed by everyone in Kant's test world. Kant examines the world and asks if you can
consistently will your maxim in a world in which that is a law? But if everyone steals anything
they desire, how will there be property rights since it is okay for anyone to take anything at any
time? There can't. Since there are no property rights, the maxim breaks down since stealing only
occurs when someone takes property from its rightful owner. Since there is a contradiction in the
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conception of the maxim, you are prohibited from acting on that maxim.
Imagine Ice Man, a cold, rational person that does not find inner satisfaction in spreading
joy and cannot take delight in the satisfaction of others. Does Ice Man have a duty to help others
when they are in need? Ice Man is wealthy and not in need of help from others? Ice Man ...