## Notes [[Categorical Imperative]] ## Highlights For over 40 years, he woke up every morning at 5:00 AM and wrote for exactly three hours. He would then lecture at the same university for exactly four hours. He followed that up with lunch at the same restaurant each day. Then, in the afternoon, he would go on an extended walk through the same park, on the same route, leaving and returning home at the exact same time. Every day. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwctv0z575y58v65krke6k3)) ^y7ai0h - 💭 elaborated upon by Kant's transformation Kant’s moral philosophy is unique and counterintuitive. Kant believed that for something to be good, it had to be universal—that is, it can’t be “right” to do something in one situation and “wrong” to do it in another. If lying is wrong, it has to be wrong all the time. It has to be wrong when everyone does it. Period. If it isn’t always right or always wrong, then that cannot be a valid ethical principle. Kant called these universalized ethical principles “categorical imperatives”—rules to live by that are valid in all contexts, in every situation, to every human being. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwc4yct28sa6ttv9zs1mxy6)) ^0necgk - 💭 A collective approach to morality, how does it relate to utilitarianism though? Act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwc5f0scx7zq033zx44h03f)) - 💭 key rule Kant wrote that “without rationality, the universe would be a waste, in vain, and without purpose.” To Kant’s mind, without intelligence, *and the freedom to exercise that intelligence*, we might as well just all be a bunch of rocks. Nothing would matter. Therefore, Kant believed that all morality is derived from the protection and promotion of rational consciousness in each individual. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwc87c1jara8dsdke5ypay3)) ^ut7vp8 - 💭 to be universally kind is to universally preserve the gift of humanity and their ability to grow based on this belief He argued you should do your best *because anything less is to treat ourselves as a means rather than an end*. Yes, you can treat yourself as a means as well. When you’re sitting on the couch, refreshing Twitter for the 28th time, you’re treating [your mind](https://markmanson.net/your-two-minds) and [your attention](https://markmanson.net/attention-economy) as a mere pleasure receptacle. You are not maximizing the potential of your consciousness. In fact, you are using your consciousness as a means to stimulate your emotional ends. This is not only bad, Kant would argue, but it’s unethical. You are actively harming yourself. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwcc53tjmg1pdv0s0k0r9dk)) ^28dnja - 💭 a new perspective at how to explain the importance of less self-indulgence Kant believed that, first, over-indulgence was fundamentally the act of being immoral to oneself. The harm it did to others was merely collateral damage. It was a failure to confront the reality of one’s own mind and own consciousness, and this failure is akin to lying to oneself or cheating oneself out of precious life potential. And to Kant, [lying to yourself](https://markmanson.net/9-subtle-lies-we-all-tell-ourselves) is just as unethical as lying to others. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwcdmwnza0ebr2nxgr8r5g0)) ^erfz8q - 💭 any self-harm is also immoral because you're worthy yourself The other modern area that is problematic is sales and advertising. Pretty much every marketing tactic is built around treating people as a means to some end (making money). In fact, Kant struggled much of his life with the ethical implications of capitalism and wealth inequality. He believed that it was impossible for anyone to amass a fortune without *some* degree of manipulation or coercion along the way. Therefore he was dubious of the entire system. He wasn’t anti-capitalist per se (communism didn’t exist yet), but the staggering wealth inequality of his time did make him uneasy. He believed anyone who had amassed a fortune had a moral imperative to give much of it away to the starving masses.[7](https://markmanson.net/the-one-rule-for-life#footnote-7) ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwcgk3et08bqsagy26sv8c4)) ^a55691 - 💭 glad this was brought up, is why i am even reading this in the first place. is it wrong to judge for "some" degree of manipulation? what does that entail? Therefore, Kant argued, the only logical way to improve the world is through improving ourselves. This is because the only thing we can truly experience with any certainty is ourselves. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwcmwzr0yzw0n1y8jnfs7zx)) ^d9f8ur Kant defined [self-improvement](https://markmanson.net/self-improvement) as developing the ability to adhere to the categorical imperative. And he saw self-improvement as a duty—an undebatable obligation put on us all. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwcn62s7p45chdbdftf5pd2)) ^3w8j9f - 💭 another incentive for self-actualization I had spent [most of my 20s](https://markmanson.net/surviving-my-20s) pursuing many of the items on the list above, but I pursued them for practical and transactional reasons. I pursued them as means because I thought that they would make my life better. Meanwhile, the more I worked at it, the emptier I felt. But reading Kant was an epiphany. In only 80 pages, Kant swept away decades’ worth of assumptions and beliefs.[11](https://markmanson.net/the-one-rule-for-life#footnote-11) He showed me that what you actually do doesn’t matter as much as the purpose behind doing it. And until you [find the right purpose](https://markmanson.net/life-purpose), you haven’t found much of anything at all. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwcr9agqw5n4r3gmj1c30mj)) - 💭 [[Mark Manson]]'s personal significance Kant wasn’t always a humdrum, routine-obsessed dork. He wasn’t always the mayor of Boreville. In fact, in Kant’s younger years, he was a bit of a party hound as well. He would stay up late drinking wine and playing cards with his friends. He’d sleep late and eat too much and host big parties. It wasn’t until he turned 40 that he dropped it all and developed the routine life he later made famous. He said that he developed this routine at 40 because he realized the moral implications of his actions and decided that he would no longer allow himself to waste the precious time or energy his consciousness had left. Kant called this “developing character”—a.k.a., building a life designed around maximizing your own potential. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwcsa2vq35v22h5qf1qt0jt)) ^b2cb4c - 💭 Kant's personal transformation. Less hedonism, more on upholding this moral duty Sam Harris, Tyler Cowen, Steven Pinker, and Peter Singer are some prominent utilitarians. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hvwckk741hdams35mszq6dtt)) ^s3yncv