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In an attempt to describe a universal ethical foundation that could be applied across disparate cultures Kant settles on the Categorical Imperative.

1. Act as if the priciple by which you act is about to be turned into a universal law of nature.

2. Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become universal law.

3. Act in such a way that you always treat humanity whether in your person or in the person of any other never simply as a means but always at the same time as an end.

Kant provides this example of the way in which his Categorical Imperative can be applied to a situation to determine the ethical decision:

"A man finds himself forced by need to borrow money. He well knows that he will nt be able to repay it, but also sees that nothing will be loaned to him if he does not firmly promise to repay it. He desires to make such a promise, but he has enough conscience to ask himself whether it is improper and opposed to duty to relieve his distress in such a way. Now, assuming he does decide to do so the maxim of his actions would be as follows: When I believe myself to be in need of money, I will borrow money and promise to repay it although I know I shall never do so. Now this principle of self-love or of his own benefit may very well be compatible with his whole future welfare, but the question is whether it is right. He changes the pretension of self love into a universal law and hen puts the question: How would it be if my maxim became universal law? He immediately sees that it could never hold as a universal law of nature and be consistent with itself; rather it must neccesarily contradict itself. For the universality of a law that says that anyone who believes himself to be in need could promise what he pleased whith the intention of not fulfilling it would make the promise itself and the end to be accomplished by it impossible; no one would believe what was promised to him but would only laugh at any such assertion as vain pretense."

This example shows the utility of the Categorical Imperative in resolving ethical questions. There will always be exceptions, excuses, and conflicts to the pure application of this idea however I believe that it provides an interesting method of determining the ethical nature of a given action. Is it ok to steal? If everyone stole there would be no point in stealing because it would be impossible to possess property. Thus according to the Categorical Imperative it is not ethical to steal.

Our lecture today is on virtue ethics. According to Aristotle virtue can be found in excellence. No matter what you do, as long as you do it well and pursue excellence, you will pursue virtue. This can be readily experienced in many situations. Try to pursue excellence in everything you do and you to can experience a virtuous existence.

This is the kind of home I would like to live in someday. Built by an engineering team from McGill University in Montreal this home is an "intelligent, self-sufficient, and ecological solar-powered house that meets typical North American comfort standards. Although the house is powered exclusively by the sun, the occupants will enjoy every convenience found in a normal dwelling, such as a cooking range, refrigerator, dishwasher, washer-dryer, television, computer, etc. The occupants will even be able to recharge an electric vehicle’s batteries with surplus energy!"