Categorical Imperative — The supreme principle of Kantian morality, formulated in several ways. The most well-known: “Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.” Another formulation: “Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only.” The imperative is categorical because it commands unconditionally, unlike hypothetical imperatives which depend on desires.
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