How To Obtain Substantive Conclusions From The Formal Principle

Both Kant and his many critics hold that the Formula of Universal Law is a"formal principle."In Kant's view, substantive moral conclusions can be obtained from this formal principle; in his critics'view, however, this is impossible: Kant's Formula of Universal Law only represents an"empty formalism,"which can not be used to guide moral practice. A question, then, is that what the"formal principle"means in Kant's texts, and why Kant believes that substantive moral conclusions can be obtained from such a formal principle. In this paper, I have discussed Kant's Formula of Universal Law from this perspective.First, I have analyzed Kant's discussion of the Formula of Universal Law in his Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, and explained its theoretical background, the course of how Kant obtains it, its major concepts, and its testing procedure. Second, I have listed the main arguments against Kant's Formula of Universal Law, and presented three major interpretations of this formula, which tried to respond to these arguments. I have discussed that in which sense those interpretations can successfully rebut these arguments, and in which sense they fail. Finally, I have put Kant's Formula of Universal Law under the background of Kant's system which is made up by three groups of formulas, and tried to relate all these formulas with each other, based on Kant's assertion that these formulas are"at the bottom the same,"in order to give a new way to understand Kant's Formula of Universal Law.I have argued that only by connecting three groups of formulas with each other, can we understand why Kant holds that substantive conclusions can be obtained from the formal principle. In my view, Kant's"formal principle"is not an empty logical principle without any substantive contents; on the contrary, contents such as respecting humanity, autonomy of will, and perspective of community are implied in this special formal principle. When we include these contents into this formula, many problems which cannot be solved otherwise can now be solved.