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Critique of Kant’s Moral Philosophy from Nietzsche Vantage Standpoint
Kant and Nietzsche are arguably among the very greatest of the modern moral philosophers.
However, these two philosophers have disagreements in their approach to moral philosophy. The
moral philosophy of Kant has been viewed by many to have been the turning point in the history
of moral philosophy. Many great philosophers that came after Kant owe their philosophical
Kernel to him. Nietzsche himself is on record arguing that Kant is a philosopher whom everyone
that came after him has to come to terms with. He averred that in the post-Kant era, one has
either to become a Kantian or begin from the foundation laid by Kantian on moral principles to
think his or her way out of Kantianism. It is important to note that the philosophy of Kant
revolves around an attempt to establish a scientific morality. However, it is this attempt of
establishing a scientific morality that dissatisfy Nietzsche and his post-modern followers who see
it as an impossibility to establish a scientific system of morality with certainty. The moral
philosophy of Kant is basically an articulation of autonomy and having practical reason (will).
According to Kant, the good life that people lead is not dependent on people obeying any
external authority. Instead, in the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, he avers that the
authority of morality is intrinsic and purely rational. In his view, a rational agent has the capacity
to obligate him/herself to a universal law (Kant, 33). Kant contends that human beings are
capable of being self-governed and also have the capacity of doing deliberations, making
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decisions, and acting practically in an autonomous manner; that is, without any influence from an
external authority. In the second tenet of Kant’s philosophy, he introduces the concept of
categorical imperative (CI) which he dubbs as the standard of rationality that functions as the
supreme principle of morality. However, this paper will aim to discuss Kant’s notion of practical
reason and criticize it in favor of Nietzsche’s argument against morality and moral theory.
Kant’s Notion of Practical Reason
In his masterpiece the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant does a clarification and
analysis of the concepts of morality for searching and establishing the supreme principle of
morality. In searching for the supreme principle of morality, Kant starts with the concept of
practical reason (the will). He defined practical reason as the subject of an act that is chosen and
decided. Basically, morality is science and like other sciences which have their laws, morality
