“ To be conscious that one's maxims lead to happiness is virtue ”
Immanuel Kant, Critique of Practical Reason (1788). copy citation
| Author | Immanuel Kant |
|---|---|
| Source | Critique of Practical Reason |
| Topic | happiness virtue |
| Date | 1788 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Thomas Kingsmill Abbott |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5683/pg5683-images.html |
Context
“The ancient Greek schools were, properly speaking, only two, and in determining the conception of the summum bonum these followed in fact one and the same method, inasmuch as they did not allow virtue and happiness to be regarded as two distinct elements of the summum bonum, and consequently sought the unity of the principle by the rule of identity; but they differed as to which of the two was to be taken as the fundamental notion. The Epicurean said: "To be conscious that one's maxims lead to happiness is virtue"; the Stoic said: "To be conscious of one's virtue is happiness." With the former, Prudence was equivalent to morality; with the latter, who chose a higher designation for virtue, morality alone was true wisdom.”
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