The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics

This treatise opens a careful investigation into whether moral philosophy can claim the status of a true science. It asks if the concept of duty can be purified from personal feeling and grounded instead in the same kind of rational structure that underpins legal theory. By proposing a test in which a maxim must be conceivable as a universal law, the author shows how reason—not sentiment—should guide our actions.

The work then draws a sharp line between merely institutional obligations and the deeper demands of ethics, insisting that pure rational principles are essential for genuine certainty. It critiques the common practice of teaching morality through emotion alone, arguing that such an approach leaves duty on shaky ground. Listeners will come away with a fresh appreciation of why a metaphysical foundation is seen as indispensable for a disciplined, systematic view of moral duty.