Pure practical reason (german: reine praktische Vernunft) is the opposite of impure (or sensibly-determined) practical reason and appears in
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
's ''
Critique of Practical Reason
The ''Critique of Practical Reason'' (german: Kritik der praktischen Vernunft) is the second of Immanuel Kant's three critiques, published in 1788. It follows on from Kant's first critique, the '' Critique of Pure Reason'' and deals with his mo ...
'' and ''
Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals
''Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals'' (1785; german: Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten; also known as the ''Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals'', ''Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals'', and the ''Grounding for the Metaphysics o ...
''.
It is the reason that drives actions without any sense dependent incentives. Human reasoning chooses such actions simply because those actions are good in themselves; this is the nature of
good will, which Kant argues is the only concept that is good without any justification, it is good in itself and is a derivative of a transcendental law which affects the way humans practically reason (see
practical philosophy The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophyImmanuel Kant, ''Lectures on Ethics'', Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 41 ("On Universal Practical Philosophy"). Original text: Immanuel Kant, ''Kant’s Gesa ...
).
References
* Immanuel Kant, ''Kritik der praktischen Vernunft'', Stuttgart 1961, "Vorrede".
* Immanuel Kant, ''Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten'', Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2004, p. 106.
Immanuel Kant
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