Kantian Ethics In Kant's Grounding For The Metaphysics Of

Kantian Ethics of The Stranger
Meursault follows the doctrine of Kantian ethics. Followers of Kant believe that you should act in a way you expect others to act. He helps people out in their time of need, he conforms to his sense of duty when making important life decisions, and he assumes responsibility for his actions when he does not adhere to his principles.
In Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant spoke of the categorical imperative. Imperatives come in two kinds: hypothetical and categorical. A hypothetical imperative is an action that is good for some purpose and a categorical imperative is an action that is objectively necessary without a specific purpose. This kind of imperative is good only as a means to something else whereas a categorical imperative is good in itself. Universality is one condition of a categorical imperative. For example, a hypothetical imperative for getting exemplary grades would be studying diligently. A hypothetical imperative for making delicious food would be following the recipe carefully. A categorical imperative could be telling the truth. If one person can tell a lie, by Kantian ethics, it follows that all people can. Thus, in all cases telling the truth would be …show more content…
Meursault follows this principle because he doesn’t upset himself with anything. The day after his mother’s death, he goes out to enjoy himself. When Salamano treats his dog inhumanely, he doesn’t feel pity for the dog. He knows that Raymond beats his girlfriend, but he doesn’t worry himself with it. When he is sentenced to execution, he quietly accepts his fate. He believes that nothing matters, therefore the only thing to do is enjoy life until the end and not let anything bother him. “To feel it so like myself, indeed, so brotherly, made me realize that I’d been happy, and that I was happy still (Camus 76).” At the end of his life, he is content and believes he has fulfilled his