CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
PRINCIPLE EXAMPLES
POSITIVE
Situation: Miss Universe
PRINCIPLE OF UNIVERSALITY Philippines Catriona Gray
donates a considerable amount
of money to a charity every year.
Explanation: This is a positive
example of the principle of
universality because this shows
an act that is accepted by all
people. As it is universally
accepted as a right action, then
it can also be expected that
others would do same as what
Catriona Gray did.
POSITIVE
Situation: Juan Dela Cruz saw an
PRINCIPLE OF HUMANITY old woman crossing the street as
he was about to go to school. He
decided to help the old woman
and did not ask anything in
return.
Explanation: What Juan Dela
Cruz did is an act showing a
positive example of the principle
of humanity. It is because he
treated the old woman not as a
mere means, but as an end. It
can be shown to how he willingly
helped the old woman without
asking for anything in return.
NEGATIVE
Situation: A regulation that is
strongly implemented during this
time of the COVID-19 pandemic
is the prohibition of mass
gatherings. However, a high
ranking police official celebrated
a birthday party which caused a
mass gathering. What the police
official did was an act of
disobedience to the law.
Explanation: This is a negative
example of the principle of
universality because the act of
disobeying the law is not
universally accepted. Since this is
not a universal act, therefore,
nobody should do it.
NEGATIVE
Situation: A famous drug lord is
using the poor people in Cebu to
sell drugs in exchange for a large
amount of money.
Explanation: The drug lord is
showing a negative example of
the principle of humanity
because he is taking advantage
of the poor people and uses
them as mere means to get what
he wants. He involves them in a
scheme of action to which the
poor people have been deceived
due to the need of earning
money.