Groundwork ii-iii

20 Mar, 2026

More to discuss in the third paragraph of the Preface. Kant says the principles for the physical world are in accordance with which everything happens, and the principles for ethics are in accordance with which everything ought to happen. Then he says that take into account the conditions where what ought to happen "very often" doesn't happen.

Two things jump at me.

First, "in accordance" is doing a lot of work. Kant is saying that the principles are primary. They aren't just explained by the world. They govern the world. The direction for Kant is principles --> application. Consider ways Kant didn't phrase this:

"described by": principles aren't simply described by our experience, they are the rules that govern what happens.
"consistent with": still makes principles passive to the experiences.
Kant's choice of "in accordance with" implies the world conforms to the principles. Written another way: everything happens in accordance with the principles. The principles are the authority, and the world conforms.

Second, the same principles for ethics must do more than define morality. They must also explain the conditions where morality isn't followed. The fact that Kant is phrasing its frequency as "very often" makes me think that he is going to be very pragmatic about ethics. Conscious Permanence and its authorship distributed across past choices may explain how moral principles aren't followed.

To summarize something that surprised me: the physical world conforms to the laws of physics, and both ethical behavior and its frequent violation conform to the laws of ethics. The physical world can't "transgress" while humans can, and Kant says that both parts must be explained by the principle of morality to be complete.

Three blog posts for just the first three paragraphs. I think studying this book will be very fruitful.