Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows
or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps
Noun: categorical imperative  ,ka-tu'gor-u-kul im'pe-ru-tiv or ,ka-tu'gór-i-kul im'pe-ru-tiv [N. Amer], ,ka-tu'gó-ri-kul im'pe-ru-tiv [Brit]
  1. The moral principle that behaviour should be determined by duty
    "Kant's categorical imperative states that one should act only according to rules that could hold for everyone"

Derived forms: categorical imperatives

Type of: moral principle

Encyclopedia: Categorical imperative