# Immanuel Kant — Principia Ethica character guide

> Immanuel Kant in Principia Ethica by G. E. Moore.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Kant, himself

**First appearance:** 0008-iv-metaphysical-ethics

## Snapshot

The metaphysical moralist whose categorical imperative Moore both echoes and rejects, borrowing a title while refusing the system.

## Who they are

Kant is the towering representative of metaphysical ethics, the tradition that tries to derive ethical truths from metaphysical ones — a move Moore considers as fallacious as deriving them from natural facts. Yet Moore's relationship to Kant is not simple dismissal: he explicitly models his project on Kant's 'Prolegomena,' writing a 'Prolegomena to any future Ethics that can possibly pretend to be scientific.' Kant matters to the middle chapters because his categorical imperative, with its implied heteronomy objection, forces Moore to clarify what he means by calling ethical propositions 'Intuitions' — and what he emphatically does not mean.

## In the story

### [Preface to the 1903 Edition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/principia_ethica_se/chapters/preface-to-the-1903-edition)

Referenced via the allusion to Kant's 'Prolegomena' as a model for Moore's own work.

### [Principia Ethica](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/principia_ethica_se/chapters/principia-ethica)

Critiqued in the context of metaphysical ethics.

### [IV: Metaphysical Ethics](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/principia_ethica_se/chapters/iv-metaphysical-ethics)

Mentioned as a proponent of metaphysical ethics and for the erroneous view equating truth with being thought in a particular way.

### [Ethics in Relation to Conduct](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/principia_ethica_se/chapters/v-ethics-in-relation-to-conduct)

Criticized for inconsistency: holding that a Good Will is the sole good while also implying happiness is a reward for virtue.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/principia_ethica_se/chapters/endnotes)

Referenced in the context of his argument against Heteronomy.

## Links

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