SUS1501
ASSIGNMENT NO: 02
YEAR : 2026
PREVIEW:
State your proposed act as a maxim:
"Patrice Motsepe will accumulate US$ 4.2 billion (A) over the course of his life (C) in
order to get really, really rich (E)."
This maxim describes the action and the intention behind it. In Kant’s theory, a maxim is
the personal rule or principle that guides someone’s behaviour. In this case, the action
(A) is accumulating a very large amount of wealth, the circumstance (C) is over the
course of a person’s lifetime through business or other economic activity, and the end
goal (E) is to become extremely wealthy.
, 1. State your proposed act as a maxim:
"Patrice Motsepe will accumulate US$ 4.2 billion (A) over the course of his life (C) in
order to get really, really rich (E)."
This maxim describes the action and the intention behind it. In Kant’s theory, a maxim is
the personal rule or principle that guides someone’s behaviour. In this case, the action
(A) is accumulating a very large amount of wealth, the circumstance (C) is over the
course of a person’s lifetime through business or other economic activity, and the end
goal (E) is to become extremely wealthy.
The maxim therefore reflects the idea that a person works and builds businesses or
investments in order to achieve personal financial success. At this stage, Kant does not
judge whether the action is right or wrong yet. The purpose is simply to clearly identify
the principle behind the action so that it can later be tested using the categorical
imperative.
2. Restate this maxim as a universal law:
"All people (8.1 billion of them) will accumulate US$ 4.2 billion over the course of
their life in order to get really, really rich."
In this step, the maxim is turned into a universal rule that applies to everyone. Kant’s
formula of universal law asks us to imagine a world where every person follows the
same principle or rule behind the action.
In this case, we imagine a world where every individual aims to accumulate billions of
dollars during their lifetime with the goal of becoming extremely rich. By doing this, we
can begin to question whether such a world would make sense or whether it would
create contradictions.
This step is important because Kant believed that moral rules must be able to apply to
everyone equally. If a rule only works for one person but would create problems if
everyone followed it, then it cannot be considered a moral rule. The next steps of the
test examine whether such a universal law would actually be possible or rational.
3. Is the maxim above conceivable in a world ruled by the universal law?
No, the maxim is not really conceivable in a world where it becomes a universal law.
ASSIGNMENT NO: 02
YEAR : 2026
PREVIEW:
State your proposed act as a maxim:
"Patrice Motsepe will accumulate US$ 4.2 billion (A) over the course of his life (C) in
order to get really, really rich (E)."
This maxim describes the action and the intention behind it. In Kant’s theory, a maxim is
the personal rule or principle that guides someone’s behaviour. In this case, the action
(A) is accumulating a very large amount of wealth, the circumstance (C) is over the
course of a person’s lifetime through business or other economic activity, and the end
goal (E) is to become extremely wealthy.
, 1. State your proposed act as a maxim:
"Patrice Motsepe will accumulate US$ 4.2 billion (A) over the course of his life (C) in
order to get really, really rich (E)."
This maxim describes the action and the intention behind it. In Kant’s theory, a maxim is
the personal rule or principle that guides someone’s behaviour. In this case, the action
(A) is accumulating a very large amount of wealth, the circumstance (C) is over the
course of a person’s lifetime through business or other economic activity, and the end
goal (E) is to become extremely wealthy.
The maxim therefore reflects the idea that a person works and builds businesses or
investments in order to achieve personal financial success. At this stage, Kant does not
judge whether the action is right or wrong yet. The purpose is simply to clearly identify
the principle behind the action so that it can later be tested using the categorical
imperative.
2. Restate this maxim as a universal law:
"All people (8.1 billion of them) will accumulate US$ 4.2 billion over the course of
their life in order to get really, really rich."
In this step, the maxim is turned into a universal rule that applies to everyone. Kant’s
formula of universal law asks us to imagine a world where every person follows the
same principle or rule behind the action.
In this case, we imagine a world where every individual aims to accumulate billions of
dollars during their lifetime with the goal of becoming extremely rich. By doing this, we
can begin to question whether such a world would make sense or whether it would
create contradictions.
This step is important because Kant believed that moral rules must be able to apply to
everyone equally. If a rule only works for one person but would create problems if
everyone followed it, then it cannot be considered a moral rule. The next steps of the
test examine whether such a universal law would actually be possible or rational.
3. Is the maxim above conceivable in a world ruled by the universal law?
No, the maxim is not really conceivable in a world where it becomes a universal law.
