The Moral Law Within — What Kant and the Buddha Both Discovered

Kant said: genuine moral action cannot be selfish — because selfishness cannot be universalized. The Buddha said: genuine moral action cannot be selfish — because the self doing the protecting turns out to be a conditioned process, not a foundation. They reach the same shore from opposite coasts. By the end of this video, you'll see why both men concluded that the self you spend so much energy protecting is exactly the thing that gets in the way of doing what's right. In this video: • Kant biography: Königsberg 1724, Pietist upbringing, harness-maker father, silent decade, first Critique at 57, cascade 1785-1793, Wöllner censorship 1794, "loyal subject," resumed 1797, "Es ist gut," died 12 February 1804 • Categorical imperative: three formulations (Gregor translations), shopkeeper example, moral worth • Kant's Paralogisms: even Kant denied we can know self is permanent substance • Moral agent = capacity for universalization, NOT ontological permanence • Moral theism: God and immortality as postulates of practical reason (not theoretical proofs) • [AN 6.63] cetanā = kamma (Anālayo caveat: necessary factor, not sole determinant) • Sīlabbata-parāmāsa = distorted grasp of ritual, not virtue itself • [MN 61] Mirror of intention — three phases • Three convergences: ethics without divine command, inner quality over external form, self-protective self cannot be moral self • Garfield/Cummiskey: named openly — Kantian autonomy incompatible with no-self • Three divergences: metaphysics of agency, absolute prohibitions vs intention/transformation, self-legislation vs natural expression • "Lie to the murderer" (1797) — flagged as contested • Close: "Es ist gut" + starry heavens/moral law epitaph + "the same shore from opposite coasts" ─────────── Sources & References: • Kant, I. — "Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals" (1785) — three formulations of categorical imperative (Gregor trans.) • Kant, I. — "Critique of Pure Reason" (1781/1787) — Paralogisms • Kant, I. — "Critique of Practical Reason" (1788) — moral theism as postulate • Kant, I. — "On a Supposed Right to Lie from Philanthropy" (1797) — flagged as contested • Nihārasumma Sutta (AN 6.63) — Cetanā = kamma • Āmurapiṇḍaka Sutta (MN 61) — Mirror of intention • Anālayo, Bh. — Caveat on cetanā as necessary but not sole factor • Garfield, J. — Kantian autonomy and no-self incompatibility • Cummiskey, D. — "Kantian Consequentialism" (Buddhist parallels) • Monk, R. — "Ludwig Wittgenstein" (Kant reference in philosophical biography) • Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — "The Integrity of Emptiness" (dhammatalks.org) Sutta sources: accesstoinsight.org | dhammatalks.org ─────────── ▶ This channel uses Buddhist wisdom as a lens to understand life — in dialogue with the whole of human knowledge. If this changed how you understand Kant and Buddhist ethics, consider subscribing. We publish deep, long-form explorations every week. #kant #buddhism #categoricalimperative #morallawwithin #goodwill #ethics #MN61 #AN663 #kantbuddhism #autonomy #moralaction #theravada #palicanon #westernphilosophy #wisdom