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href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxime" title="Maxime – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Maxime" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksiim" title="Maksiim – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Maksiim" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A1xima_(filosof%C3%ADa)" title="Máxima (filosofía) – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Máxima (filosofía)" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksimo" title="Maksimo – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Maksimo" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%87_(%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%81%D9%87)" title="قاعده (فلسفه) – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="قاعده (فلسفه)" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxime_(langue)" title="Maxime (langue) – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Maxime (langue)" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EA%B2%A9%EB%A5%A0" title="격률 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="격률" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-io mw-list-item"><a href="https://io.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentenco" title="Sentenco – Ido" lang="io" hreflang="io" data-title="Sentenco" data-language-autonym="Ido" data-language-local-name="Ido" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ido</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A7%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%94_(%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%94)" title="מקסימה (פילוסופיה) – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="מקסימה (פילוסופיה)" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxime_(filosofie)" title="Maxime (filosofie) – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Maxime (filosofie)" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A0%BC%E7%8E%87" title="格率 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="格率" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksime" title="Maksime – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Maksime" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl badge-Q70893996 mw-list-item" title=""><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksyma" title="Maksyma – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Maksyma" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A1xima_(filosofia)" title="Máxima (filosofia) – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Máxima (filosofia)" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim%C4%83_(filozofie)" title="Maximă (filozofie) – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Maximă (filozofie)" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0_(%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%8F)" title="Максима (философия) – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Максима (философия)" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxima" title="Maxima – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Maxima" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ckb mw-list-item"><a href="https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%DB%95%D8%B1%D8%AF%DB%95%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%88%D8%B1" title="سەردەستوور – Central Kurdish" lang="ckb" hreflang="ckb" data-title="سەردەستوور" data-language-autonym="کوردی" data-language-local-name="Central Kurdish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>کوردی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksiimi" title="Maksiimi – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Maksiimi" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim" title="Maxim – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Maxim" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1ch_ng%C3%B4n" title="Cách ngôn – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Cách ngôn" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li> 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<div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikiquote mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maxims" hreflang="en"><span>Wikiquote</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1374354" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Rule or guideline for action</div> <p>A <b>maxim</b> is a <a href="/wiki/Morality" title="Morality">moral</a> rule or principle, which can be considered dependent on one's <a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a>. A maxim is often <a href="/wiki/Pedagogy" title="Pedagogy">pedagogical</a> and motivates specific actions. The <i><a href="/wiki/Oxford_Dictionary_of_Philosophy" class="mw-redirect" title="Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy">Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy</a></i> defines it as: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>Generally any simple and memorable rule or guide for living; for example, 'neither a borrower nor a lender be'. <a href="/wiki/Alfred,_Lord_Tennyson" title="Alfred, Lord Tennyson">Tennyson</a> speaks of 'a little hoard of maxims preaching down a daughter's heart (<a href="/wiki/Locksley_Hall" title="Locksley Hall">Locksley Hall</a>), and maxims have generally been associated with a 'folksy' or 'copy-book' approach to <a href="/wiki/Moral" title="Moral">morality</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Deontological_ethics">Deontological ethics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Maxim_(philosophy)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Deontological ethics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Deontological_ethics" class="mw-redirect" title="Deontological ethics">deontological ethics</a>, mainly in <a href="/wiki/Kantian_ethics" title="Kantian ethics">Kantian ethics</a>, maxims are understood as <a href="/wiki/Subjectivity" class="mw-redirect" title="Subjectivity">subjective</a> principles of action. A maxim is thought to be part of an agent's thought process for every rational action, indicating in its standard form: (1) the action, or type of action; (2) the conditions under which it is to be done; and (3) the end or purpose to be achieved by the action, or the motive. The maxim of an action is often referred to as the agent's intention. In Kantian ethics, the <a href="/wiki/Categorical_imperative" title="Categorical imperative">categorical imperative</a> provides a test on maxims for determining whether the actions they refer to are right, wrong, or permissible. </p><p>The categorical imperative is stated canonically as: "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law."<sup id="cite_ref-Ellington_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Ellington-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In his <i><a href="/wiki/Critique_of_Practical_Reason" title="Critique of Practical Reason">Critique of Practical Reason</a></i>, <a href="/wiki/Immanuel_Kant" title="Immanuel Kant">Immanuel Kant</a> provided the following example of a maxim and of how to apply the test of the categorical imperative: </p> <blockquote><p>I have, for example, made it my maxim to increase my wealth by any safe means. Now I have a deposit in my hands, the owner of which has died and left no record of it. . . . I therefore apply the maxim to the present case and ask whether it could indeed take the form of a law, and consequently whether I could through my maxim at the same time give such a law as this: that everyone may deny a deposit which no one can prove has been made. I at once become aware that such a principle, as a law, would annihilate itself since it would bring it about that there would be no deposits at all.<sup id="cite_ref-Gregor_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gregor-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>Also, an action is said to have "moral worth" if the maxim upon which the agent acts cites the purpose of conforming to a moral requirement. That is, a person's action has moral worth when he does his <a href="/wiki/Duty" title="Duty">duty</a> purely for the sake of duty, or does the right thing for the right reason. Kant himself believed that it is impossible to know whether anyone's action has ever had moral worth. It might appear to someone that he has acted entirely "from duty", but this could always be an illusion of self-interest: of wanting to see oneself in the best, most noble light. This indicates that agents are not always the best judges of their own maxims or motives. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Personal_knowledge">Personal knowledge</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Maxim_(philosophy)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Personal knowledge"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Michael_Polanyi" title="Michael Polanyi">Michael Polanyi</a> in his account of <a href="/wiki/Tacit_knowledge" title="Tacit knowledge">tacit knowledge</a> stressed the importance of the maxim in focusing both explicit and implicit modes of understanding. "Maxims are rules, the correct application of which is part of the art they govern....Maxims can only function within a framework of personal (i.e., experiential) knowledge".<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Maxim_(philosophy)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1266661725">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output 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References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Maxim (Oxford University Press 2008) p. 226</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Ellington-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Ellington_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFKant1993" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Immanuel_Kant" title="Immanuel Kant">Kant, Immanuel</a> (1993). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/groundingformet000kant"><i>Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals 3rd ed</i></a></span>. Translated by James W. Ellington. Hackett. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/groundingformet000kant/page/30">30</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87220-166-X" title="Special:BookSources/0-87220-166-X"><bdi>0-87220-166-X</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Grounding+for+the+Metaphysics+of+Morals+3rd+ed.&rft.pages=30&rft.pub=Hackett&rft.date=1993&rft.isbn=0-87220-166-X&rft.aulast=Kant&rft.aufirst=Immanuel&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fgroundingformet000kant&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMaxim+%28philosophy%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Gregor-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Gregor_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKant1997" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Immanuel_Kant" title="Immanuel Kant">Kant, Immanuel</a> (1997). <i>Critique of Practical Reason</i>. Translated by Mary Gregor. Cambridge University Press. pp. 25/5:27. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-59051-5" title="Special:BookSources/0-521-59051-5"><bdi>0-521-59051-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Critique+of+Practical+Reason&rft.pages=25%2F5%3A27&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=1997&rft.isbn=0-521-59051-5&rft.aulast=Kant&rft.aufirst=Immanuel&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMaxim+%28philosophy%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Quoted in Guy Claxton, <i>Live and learn (1992) p. 116</i></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a 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