est a narrower maxim. If it is narrow enough so that it encompasses only a few people, then it passes the first test. For example, the maxim could read, "When facing a distraught widow whose late husband has driven off a bridge at night, and he struggled to get out of the car but ended up drowning, and he was wearing a brown suit and brown loafers, then you should tell the widow that he died instantly in order to spare her feelings." We can easily imagine a world in which all paramedics lied to widows in this specific situation. That does not necessarily mean that it will pass the second test however. Even if it does pass the first test, narrowing down maxim can create other problems. For instance circumstances may change and the people who were originally included in the universal law, may not be included anymore. Consequently you many not want to will your maxim to be a universal law. Likewise, if one person can make these maxims that include only a select group of people, so can everyone else. If you create a maxim about lying to widows that is specific enough to pass the first test, so can everyone else. One must ask if rational beings would really will such a world in which there would be many, many specific, but universal, laws. In order to answer this question, one must use the rational "I" for the statement "I, as a rational being would will such a world," not the specific, embodied "I" which represents you in your present condition. You must consider that you could be the widow in the situation rather than the paramedic, then decide whether you would will such a universal law. I agree with the morality based on Kantian principles because it is strict in its application of moral conduct. Consequently there is no vacillating in individual cases to determine whether an action is moral or not. An action is moral in itself not because of its consequences but because any rational being wills it to be a universal law and it does no...
