How does Kant think? An interpretive proposal from an ordonomic perspective

This article interprets Kant from an ordonomic perspective: How does Kant think, and why does he think the way he does? - Kant seeks to ground human dignity. To this end, he conceives the idea of thinking the supreme principle of morality as an end that is at the same time a duty. He thus identifies a specific form that enables every person to apply the categorical imperative as a moral criterion. Kant ties the universality of this form to the universality of human dignity. His rigorism-his strategy of purification-thus concerns thinking, not acting. He welcomed actions done from duty, even when they were accom- panied by personal interests, by "pleasure and love." For contemporary theory-building, two aspects are of particular interest: (a) Kant recognized the importance of institutional incentives for moral progress; (b) Kant's theoretical architecture employs purposiveness as a regulative idea and aims to produce theory for practice-by formulating ideas that anticipate and prepare their own realization.