fermi
@f3rmi.bsky.social
A society grows great when people plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.
The takeaway: What you do matters less than WHY you do it. Until you find the right purpose, treating rationality as an end, not a means, you haven't found much at all.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The takeaway: What you do matters less than WHY you do it. Until you find the right purpose, treating rationality as an end, not a means, you haven't found much at all.
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The three formulations are equivalent. They express the same moral reality from different angles: what makes humans valuable (rationality) = what we must respect (dignity).
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The three formulations are equivalent. They express the same moral reality from different angles: what makes humans valuable (rationality) = what we must respect (dignity).
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Kant believed true character can't develop until middle age. Before then, we're too seduced by external desires to master ourselves and act from genuine moral principle.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Kant believed true character can't develop until middle age. Before then, we're too seduced by external desires to master ourselves and act from genuine moral principle.
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Character development: Kant distinguished following rules from building character. Organizing your entire life around maximizing your rational potential is an end in itself.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Character development: Kant distinguished following rules from building character. Organizing your entire life around maximizing your rational potential is an end in itself.
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Self-respect isn't about feeling good. It's about knowing your intrinsic value. Lying to yourself is as unethical as lying to others. Harming yourself is as wrong as harming others.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Self-respect isn't about feeling good. It's about knowing your intrinsic value. Lying to yourself is as unethical as lying to others. Harming yourself is as wrong as harming others.
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The ripple effect: Your honesty with yourself enables honesty with others, which influences them toward honesty. Self-improvement has a multiplier effect on the world.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The ripple effect: Your honesty with yourself enables honesty with others, which influences them toward honesty. Self-improvement has a multiplier effect on the world.
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Self-improvement is a moral duty. You can't reliably know how to make others happy, but you CAN develop your own rational capacities with certainty.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Self-improvement is a moral duty. You can't reliably know how to make others happy, but you CAN develop your own rational capacities with certainty.
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People-pleasing violates Kant's rule twice:
1. You treat yourself as a means to approval
2. You manipulate others' perceptions (treating them as means to feeling liked)
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1. You treat yourself as a means to approval
2. You manipulate others' perceptions (treating them as means to feeling liked)
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
People-pleasing violates Kant's rule twice:
1. You treat yourself as a means to approval
2. You manipulate others' perceptions (treating them as means to feeling liked)
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1. You treat yourself as a means to approval
2. You manipulate others' perceptions (treating them as means to feeling liked)
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Laziness is unethical. Not because of lost productivity, but because you're treating your rational mind as a mere means to comfort rather than maximizing your consciousness as an end.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Laziness is unethical. Not because of lost productivity, but because you're treating your rational mind as a mere means to comfort rather than maximizing your consciousness as an end.
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The consent requirement: ALL interactions must involve fully informed, uncoerced consent. This applies to personal relationships, sex, dating, business. It applies to everything!
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The consent requirement: ALL interactions must involve fully informed, uncoerced consent. This applies to personal relationships, sex, dating, business. It applies to everything!
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Required duties:
- Self-improvement (develop your capacities)
- Avoid addiction/escapism (respect your consciousness)
- Self-respect (don't harm yourself)
- Help others pursue their rational ends when possible
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- Self-improvement (develop your capacities)
- Avoid addiction/escapism (respect your consciousness)
- Self-respect (don't harm yourself)
- Help others pursue their rational ends when possible
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Required duties:
- Self-improvement (develop your capacities)
- Avoid addiction/escapism (respect your consciousness)
- Self-respect (don't harm yourself)
- Help others pursue their rational ends when possible
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- Self-improvement (develop your capacities)
- Avoid addiction/escapism (respect your consciousness)
- Self-respect (don't harm yourself)
- Help others pursue their rational ends when possible
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What's prohibited:
- Lying (manipulates rational choice)
- Coercion (bypasses consent)
- Breaking promises (destroys trust institutions)
- Bigotry (denies equal dignity)
- Manipulation (treats people as tools)
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- Lying (manipulates rational choice)
- Coercion (bypasses consent)
- Breaking promises (destroys trust institutions)
- Bigotry (denies equal dignity)
- Manipulation (treats people as tools)
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
What's prohibited:
- Lying (manipulates rational choice)
- Coercion (bypasses consent)
- Breaking promises (destroys trust institutions)
- Bigotry (denies equal dignity)
- Manipulation (treats people as tools)
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- Lying (manipulates rational choice)
- Coercion (bypasses consent)
- Breaking promises (destroys trust institutions)
- Bigotry (denies equal dignity)
- Manipulation (treats people as tools)
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FORMULA 3: Kingdom of Ends
Act according to principles that could serve as laws in an ideal community where everyone is both author and subject of moral laws.
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Act according to principles that could serve as laws in an ideal community where everyone is both author and subject of moral laws.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
FORMULA 3: Kingdom of Ends
Act according to principles that could serve as laws in an ideal community where everyone is both author and subject of moral laws.
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Act according to principles that could serve as laws in an ideal community where everyone is both author and subject of moral laws.
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The humanity principle applies to yourself too. Treating your own consciousness as a mere pleasure receptacle or avoiding self-development violates your duty to yourself.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The humanity principle applies to yourself too. Treating your own consciousness as a mere pleasure receptacle or avoiding self-development violates your duty to yourself.
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The key insight: You can involve others in achieving goals (cooperation is fine), but ONLY with their informed consent and while respecting their autonomy as rational agents with their own purposes.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The key insight: You can involve others in achieving goals (cooperation is fine), but ONLY with their informed consent and while respecting their autonomy as rational agents with their own purposes.
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Means vs. Ends:
- Means = things done conditionally to achieve something else
- Ends = desired for their own sake
Using people as mere instruments violates their rational dignity.
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- Means = things done conditionally to achieve something else
- Ends = desired for their own sake
Using people as mere instruments violates their rational dignity.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Means vs. Ends:
- Means = things done conditionally to achieve something else
- Ends = desired for their own sake
Using people as mere instruments violates their rational dignity.
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- Means = things done conditionally to achieve something else
- Ends = desired for their own sake
Using people as mere instruments violates their rational dignity.
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FORMULA 2: Humanity Principle (the most powerful)
"Treat humanity, in yourself and others, always as an end and never merely as a means."
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"Treat humanity, in yourself and others, always as an end and never merely as a means."
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
FORMULA 2: Humanity Principle (the most powerful)
"Treat humanity, in yourself and others, always as an end and never merely as a means."
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"Treat humanity, in yourself and others, always as an end and never merely as a means."
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Example: Lying fails the test. If everyone lied, trust would collapse and lying itself would become impossible. The maxim contradicts itself when universalized.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Example: Lying fails the test. If everyone lied, trust would collapse and lying itself would become impossible. The maxim contradicts itself when universalized.
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Universal Law test:
1. Identify your action's principle
2. Ask if everyone could follow it
3. Check for contradictions
4. Act only if it passes
If universalizing destroys the action's possibility, it's immoral.
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1. Identify your action's principle
2. Ask if everyone could follow it
3. Check for contradictions
4. Act only if it passes
If universalizing destroys the action's possibility, it's immoral.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Universal Law test:
1. Identify your action's principle
2. Ask if everyone could follow it
3. Check for contradictions
4. Act only if it passes
If universalizing destroys the action's possibility, it's immoral.
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1. Identify your action's principle
2. Ask if everyone could follow it
3. Check for contradictions
4. Act only if it passes
If universalizing destroys the action's possibility, it's immoral.
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FORMULA 1: Universal Law
"Act only according to that maxim which you can will to become a universal law without contradiction."
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"Act only according to that maxim which you can will to become a universal law without contradiction."
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
FORMULA 1: Universal Law
"Act only according to that maxim which you can will to become a universal law without contradiction."
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"Act only according to that maxim which you can will to become a universal law without contradiction."
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What's a categorical imperative? It's an unconditional moral command. Unlike "do X if you want Y" (hypothetical), it says "do X" period, regardless of circumstances or personal goals.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
What's a categorical imperative? It's an unconditional moral command. Unlike "do X if you want Y" (hypothetical), it says "do X" period, regardless of circumstances or personal goals.
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Core foundation: Rationality is sacred. Our consciousness and ability to make reasoned choices distinguish us from everything else in the universe. This makes rational agency the foundation of all morality.
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November 12, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Core foundation: Rationality is sacred. Our consciousness and ability to make reasoned choices distinguish us from everything else in the universe. This makes rational agency the foundation of all morality.
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