Critique of Practical Reason

Kant describes the concept of freedom or free will as a “stumbling block for all empiricists” (6). How does this concept act as a stumbling block? Why is Kant so resistant to the notion that free will does not exist? What does this say about his attitude toward empiricism and empirical arguments in general?

Kant believes that “every rational but finite being” (23) desires happiness. Why does Kant argue that the desire for happiness universal, but happiness itself is not a universal, practical law? Why, in his view, is the pursuit of happiness not a sufficient foundation for moral behavior?

Choose one of the three postulates that Kant discusses throughout The Critique of Practical Reason: God, immortality, and freedom. Describe why Kant believes your chosen postulate is a postulate and not just a hypothesis. How does he apply logical standards of proof to metaphysical concepts?

What specific moral strictures does Kant identify as categorical imperatives? What features do these imperatives have in common that distinguish them from mere personal maxims? What other categorical imperatives can you think of?

Kant proposes his concept of “practical reason” as a way to bridge the distance between empiricism and rationalism. What makes practical reason effective in this context? How does Kant seek to avoid the “abyss of skepticism” that he sees in the work of Hume and other pure empiricists?

What are the differences between an empirical feeling and a moral duty? What examples does Kant offer to illustrate these differences?

Kant argues that the “highest good” cannot be attained in any human lifetime, but that virtue consists in perpetually striving toward this unattainable moral ideal. What assumptions underlie this conception of virtue? Is such virtue compatible with happiness?

Invent or describe a situation from your own life, history, a work of fiction, etc. where practical reason might be applied to a moral situation. What would it look like? How would it help in terms of moral action?