Audiobook · read by volunteers
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)
Read by Martin Geeson, Anna Simon, Alexandre Laplante, drewmore · 6 chapters · 3 h 21
About the book
What makes an action truly good? Immanuel Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, often called the Groundwork, is his first major contribution to moral philosophy and one of the most influential short books in the history of ethics. In a few concentrated sections he argues that morality rests not on feelings or consequences but on reason itself, and he introduces the idea of the categorical imperative, a rule that binds all rational beings. The text is demanding but compact, and its central ideas have shaped debates for more than two centuries. This recording uses Thomas Kingsmill Abbott's English translation, read by Martin Geeson, Anna Simon, Alexandre Laplante and one further LibriVox volunteer in about three and a half hours.
Introduction
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) spent his whole life in the city of Königsberg in East Prussia and became one of the central figures of Western philosophy. His Critique of Pure Reason, published in 1781, transformed the study of knowledge, and a few years later he turned to ethics. The Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals appeared in 1785 and is also known as the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.
The book is intended as a preparation for a larger system of moral philosophy. Kant moves from the everyday understanding of duty to a philosophical statement of its basis, and then to a deeper inquiry into the conditions of moral freedom. He argues that an action has moral worth when it is done from duty, not from inclination, and he formulates the categorical imperative in several ways, one of which asks us to treat humanity never merely as a means but always also as an end.
This LibriVox recording is based on the English translation by Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, which dates from the nineteenth century. It has six sections, beginning with the preface, and it lasts about three and a half hours. Four volunteers share the reading. The ideas are demanding and the sentences long, but listening aloud can help in following the steps of the argument. It is an essential text for anyone interested in ethics, and a good place to meet Kant in his own concentrated voice.
Public domain
Immanuel Kant died in 1804: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text