This is a critical difference for Kant, for it forms the very basis of our ability to act morally at all. Kant holds that there is only one categorical imperative, and it is the supreme principle of morality. Unfortunately, he gives us three formulations of that imperative, not all of which are equivalent. So act as to treat humanity, whether in thine own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end withal, and never as a means only. A. Everything acts according to laws 1.
Humans can act either according to instinct, or according to principles they impose upon themselves.
The Main Types of Imperatives A . Hence their value lies not in the action they prescribe, but in the end the act aims for. B. Categorical Imperatives command one unconditionally. The goodness of such an action essentially depends on whether the agent's mental intention is to make his action comform to the principle that requires it. A general statement of the principle upon which one acts in a given situation.