Herbert Spence once started reading the works of Immanuel Kant, and after finding out that the philosopher considered space and time to be forms of sense perception rather than objective things he decided that Kant was a dunce and threw the book away.
In some situations, asking “what if everyone did that?” is a common strategy for judging whether an action is right or wrong.
By Anne Trafton
Imagine that one day you’re riding the train and decide to hop the turnstile to avoid paying the fare. It probably won’t have a big impact on the financial well-being of your local transportation system. But now ask yourself, “What if everyone did that?” The outcome is much different — the system would likely go bankrupt and no one would be able to ride the train anymore.
Kant dresses only according to that maxim whereby he can at the same time will that it become a universal law.
He’s made one miscalculation, though. The lace cravat and puffy sleeves, while co-ordinated, throw an otherwise dashing and well-fitting outfit into conceptual disarray. The frills clash with the otherwise clean lines of the jacket, and not in a relatively good accenting way. It’s not categorically imperative to avoid those this season, but care of selection and pairing is a must.
