Quotes · Quote card
Quotation from The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics by Immanuel Kant
“I may be forced by others to actions which are directed to an end as means, but I cannot be forced to have an end; I can only make something an end to myself”
The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics, Introduction, I, trans. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott
The observation on which Kant rests the distinction between enforceable duties of right and ethical duties.
Citation: "I may be forced by others to actions which are directed to an end as means, but I cannot be forced to have an end; I can only make something an end to myself" — Immanuel Kant, The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics, Introduction, I, trans. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott. (id kant-metaphysical-elements-of-ethics-q2)
