Kant's doctrine of duty explores the relationship between moral duty and law: "Love between people can only arise when the binding force of moral duty is exercised." According to Kant, duty should never be considered as something imposed and imprisoning. We must never think of it as something that only seeks to destroy freedom and love. Instead, we must realize that love can only truly be realized through a relationship bound by a sense of duty. There are two types of duty: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic duty can be defined as a duty imposed on the object by external situations or elements; for example, religious institutions, society or the family unit. Intrinsic duty is a sense of duty that takes root within oneself. It is the last of the two that Kant sets out in his Critique of Practical Reason. Explain that we must voluntarily submit to a universal principle of morality. Without a transcendental and universal moral foundation, objective morality would not exist. This, in turn, would lead to the advent of moral relativism and subjectivity. This would encourage the pursuit of love for selfish reasons. We can get around this eventuality by engaging in a “categorical imperative”; that is, a law that applies to everyone. One becomes moral only by entering into a contractual relationship bound by duty. Outside of this contractual relationship, morality is based only on opinions and there is no universal moral law. Any notion of objective morality and absolute good is, therefore, promptly destroyed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To better understand his views on love, you need to analyze another key statement: “In the absence of duty, love is hopelessly selfish, fickle, and devoid of objective morality.” Kant outlines the framework of this categorical imperative to which we must submit: “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end in itself and never only as a means. " This universal principle must be followed to pursue love morally and virtuously. According to Kant all beings have intrinsic value. They are all ends in themselves. They must be loved for their inner worth and should not be used as a means to achieve something else, only to be eliminated after the end goal has been achieved. Their value, therefore, should not be undermined or diminished. When a man claims to love a woman, but only wants to manipulate and use her for wealth or social status, she becomes “a mere means to an end of self-gratification.” If, however, a man loves a woman for her intrinsic worth and enters into a consensual and honest relationship with her, he can be said to pursue love. sincerely and morally. The purest form of such a contractual relationship can only be realized in marriage, says Kant. He even says that sex outside of marriage amounts to selfishness. Kant emphasizes the obligatory nature of love . As human beings, we are obligated to voluntarily capitulate to a higher moral order. However, there are a couple of counterarguments that can be made to this approach: Kant does not touch on the possibility of an altruistic dimension of love. He talks about love only as a moral obligation. Second, Kant believes in absolutes. Love is either based on duty, or it is immoral. Why must different forms of love be criticized by the perception of a higher universal order? Kant does not take into account changing opinions about what can be considered objectively right or wrong. His theory, in.