Immanuel Kant is the most famous German scientist, philosopher, founder of German classical philosophy, a man whose work had an enormous influence on the development of the philosophical thought of XVIII and later centuries. He was the fourth kid out of nine. Kant enrolled at the University of Konigsberg as a theology student, but was soon attracted to mathematics and physics. ("Immanuel Kant Biography", n.d.) During the study, he worked as a private tutor, published scientific papers. Later he became a professor at his university, teaching metaphysics and logic. Kant continued to write on philosophy until shortly before his death. ("Immanuel Kant Biography", n.d.). Kant had bad health and found a way out in a strict daily routine, strict adherence to his own system and useful habits. Kant was never married. He died at the age of 80 and for the first two weeks, his corpse was exhibited to all the people who wanted to give him the last honour.
Universalism is the position in meta-ethics that some moral values, or moral system, can be applied universally to everyone — or, at least, everyone in similar circumstances. ("Moral Universalism", n.d.) This concept is used in modern ethics, to refer to the methodological approach of the ethical theories that attempt to justify the universal principles of morality, to take into account the moral interests of all people.
As rationalized principle, Universalism was inducted into the ethics by Kant. Kant saw justification of morality in the mind's ability to be the legislator of his own will. Morals could only be known by looking within, which cannot be proved through reason. (Senzon, 2011) The mind, not burdened by any practical considerations, leads to the categorical imperative - the rule of universalization that compels an individual to represent the possibility of turning his motives into universal law. How can we turn our action into the moral one? We can determine the worth of the motive behind any given moral action by asking whether we could turn that motive into a universally applicable maxim. ("Immanuel Kant (1724–1804): Critique of Practical Reason and Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals", n.d.)
Kant developed the universal law of morality, the so-called categorical imperative (normative behavior). More precisely, it commands us to exercise our wills in a particular way, not to perform some action or other. (Johnson, 2004)
References
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804): Critique of Practical Reason and Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals. Sparknotes.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016, from http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/kant/section2.rhtml
Immanuel Kant Biography. Biography.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016, from http://www.biography.com/people/immanuel-kant-9360144#synopsis
Johnson, R. (2004). Kant's Moral Philosophy. Plato.stanford.edu. Retrieved 18 March 2016, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/#CatHypImp
Moral Universalism. Philosophy-index.com. Retrieved 17 March 2016, from http://www.philosophy-index.com/ethics/meta-ethics/universalism.php
Senzon, S. (2011). Constructing a philosophy of chiropractic: evolving worldviews and modern foundation. Journal Of Chiropractic Humanities, 18(1), 24-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.echu.2011.09.002
