categorical imperative
collocation in Englishmeaningsofcategoricalandimperative
These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withimperative.
categorical
adjective
uk/ˌkæt.əˈɡɒr.ɪ.kəl/us/ˌkæt̬.əˈɡɔːr.ɪ.kəl/
without any doubt or possibility of ...
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imperative
noun
uk/ɪmˈper.ə.tɪv/us/ɪmˈper.ə.t̬ɪv/
languagespecialized
the form of a verb that is usually used for ...
See more atimperative
(Definition ofcategoricalandimperativefrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)
Examplesofcategorical imperative
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
For example, thecategoricalimperativedoes not admit of degrees of moral goodness or badness, as consequentialist theories do.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Unlike moral commands in indirect versions of utilitarianism, thecategoricalimperativeis a guide to moral action that reveals the source of moral goodness.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Thecategoricalimperativedoes not generate many determinate norms all by itself.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Nor does the application of thecategoricalimperativethat generates them.
From theCambridge English Corpus
An action contrary to thecategoricalimperativeis straightforwardly and unambiguously bad.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Thecategoricalimperativeis the test or criterion, whereas the contradiction - or, rather, the lack thereof - is the ground of moral goodness.
From theCambridge English Corpus
This demand is also known as the secondcategoricalimperative.
From theCambridge English Corpus
She is motivated, in other words, not simply by wifely devotion but also by a more impersonal andcategoricalimperative.
From theCambridge English Corpus
In other words, we should adopt thecategoricalimperative: replace partially ordered sets by categories.
From theCambridge English Corpus
We have already seen that timelessness is an aspect of thecategoricalimperativethat plays a role even in the case of duties to others.
From theCambridge English Corpus
First, let us return to the second variant of thecategoricalimperative, the 'formula of humanity as an end in itself'.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Thecategoricalimperativeas a purely formal principle explains why it is part of moral goodness, why it is in itself morally good.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Kant does not employ a strategy called 'utilitarian generalization', and this strategy is not equivalent to thecategoricalimperative.
From theCambridge English Corpus
A rigorist theory of moral motivation is not an additional feature that adherents of thecategoricalimperativeas the supreme principle of morality can take or leave.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Kant leaves little doubt that thecategoricalimperativeis immediately operative in ordinary first-order deliberation.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Now that anothercategoricalimperativeseems to have become less imperative, does he now propose reintroducing thiscategoricalimperative?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
He spoke of the lack of thecategoricalimperativeand of the confusion of principles.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
But there is onecategoricalimperativeapplying in this case, namely, that man is crossing a new technological frontier, entering upon a brand new experience.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
It is like thecategoricalimperative: it is a monstrous thing not to apply it.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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