Kingdom of Ends

Part of a series on
Immanuel Kant
Major works
Critique of Pure Reason Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics "Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment?" Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals Critique of Practical Reason Critique of Judgment Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch The Metaphysics of Morals
Kantianism Kantian ethics
Transcendental idealism Critical philosophy Sapere aude Schema A priori and a posteriori Analytic–synthetic distinction Noumenon Categories Categorical imperative Hypothetical imperative "Kingdom of Ends" Political philosophy
People
George Berkeley René Descartes J. G. Fichte F. H. Jacobi G. W. F. Hegel David Hume Arthur Schopenhauer Baruch Spinoza African Spir Johannes Tetens
Related topics
Schopenhauer's criticism German idealism Neo-Kantianism

The Kingdom of Ends is a thought experiment centered on the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Kant introduced the concept in his Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (4:439). The thought experiment proposes a world in which all human beings are treated as ends (meaning treated as if they and their well-being are the goal), not as means to an end for other people.

Concept

The Kingdom of Ends is a hypothetical state of existence that is derived from Kant's categorical imperative. A Kingdom of Ends is composed entirely of rational beings, whom Kant defines as those capable of moral deliberation (though his definition expands in other areas). In order to be a part of the Kingdom of Ends, these rational beings must choose to act by maxims that imply an absolute necessity. It is from this point of view that they must judge themselves and their actions.

Kant uses the term "kingdom" to mean the "union of different rational beings in a system by common laws." These common laws, established by the categorical imperative, are the gauge used to evaluate the worthiness of an individual's actions. When all the kingdom's individuals live by the categorical imperative—particularly Kant's second formulation of it—one will treat each of their fellow subjects as ends in themselves, instead of means to achieving one's own selfish goals. This systematic whole is the Kingdom of Ends.

People can only belong to the Kingdom of Ends when they give universal laws unto it, and are subject to those same laws and all laws within. Such rational beings must regard themselves simultaneously as sovereign when making laws, and as subject when obeying them. Morality, therefore, is acting out of reverence for all universal laws which make the Kingdom of Ends possible. In a true Kingdom of Ends, acting virtuously will be rewarded with happiness.

In his writings on religion, Kant interprets the Kingdom of God as a religious symbol for the moral reality of the Kingdom of Ends. As such, it is the ultimate goal of both religious and political organization of human society.^[1]

Footnotes

1. ↑ Stephen Palmquist "'The Kingdom of God is at Hand!' (Did Kant really say that?)", History of Philosophy Quarterly 11:4 (October 1994), pp.421-437.