2. Kant believed in a principle of, we have to “act only according to the maxim”.

Yet, how do
we know the maxim of our actions?

ALEXA BLYTHE MERILLES

- We apply maxims every time we act, and it is our reason for acting something. Because
our actions happen so quickly, it's difficult to understand the maxim until after we ask
ourselves, "Why do we do that?" "What is the reason why I act this way" and our
answer is the maxim. So, when looking for a maxim, you must identify the action and
specify why it is taking place. For example, suppose you decided to cheat on the exam
in order to get good grades. Your cheating action is motivated by a desire to achieve
good grades, and this is your goal, the maxim of your action. This just means that a
maxim is a principle or rule that links an action to its justifications. It could be a goal,
motivation, or just simply the reason. So the point here is that whenever we act, we are
implementing the rule that we set for ourselves in the first place. Why? Because there
are certain principles in life that we should follow. According to Kant, we all act
according to maxims, which are rules by which we live just like our moral decisions. He
also stated that applying universal maxims based on reason was the only uniform way to
evaluate the morality of our actions.

John Lex Somera

- A maxim is a rule that ties an action to its reasons, thus the inquiry is, what is the
maxim of my activity? In other words, what is the basic rule that underpins the specific
action I'm considering? According to Kant, the human is a rational being with a will,
which is defined as a tendency and capacity to act in accordance with principles or laws
he establishes for himself. As a result, the rational being is free and self-sufficient.
However, freedom is negative in the sense that he can act against his will or character
and choose his activities based on ideas that are not included in nature, but he gives
himself. According to Kant, we are not prisoners to our incessant impulses; there is
something above the passion that we own consciousness, and this is the genuine self.
In this sense, we can pick which desires to prioritize above others and how our
government should respond because, since free action. We must understand that a
maxim is a guideline that relates an action to its motivation. Each of our acts is an
example of one or more maxims. The maxim of the act serves as the foundation for
one's performance. A maxim expresses a person's policy or, in the absence of a policy,
the principle behind the specific intention or choice on which he or she acts.