A deontologist wants to hurry across busy traffic to make a meeting she is late for but doesn't want to wait for the "walk" signal. In trying to decide if this is acceptable, she wants to know whether or not the possible action is a categorical imperative. What question should she ask herself?

The correct answer is "Should all people late for important meetings ignore crosswalk signals?"

The concept of categorical imperative was developed by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, as the central concept of his deontology, an aspect of moral philosophy that deals with duties. Kant's goal was to define a way to assess the motivations for human action at all times in life. An imperative would be any proposition that declares a particular action as necessary, based on this notion Kant divides the imperatives into two categories: categorical and hypothetical.

Those maxims that would be acceptable as a universal law, and can be considered adequate motivation for human action, would be categorical imperatives, implying an absolute and unconditional demand. This cannot be disobeyed, no matter the circumstances, being an end in itself, that is, no other purpose can justify disobedience and the categorical imperative needs no other justification. Unlike hypothetical imperatives, which have application when we want to achieve a certain end, for example, if we want to acquire knowledge, it is imperative that we learn. The hypothetical imperative is linked to the end, or the purpose, desired by the one who acts, thus facilitating the decision of what the correct action to take, is hypothetical because, once the agent has no interest in accomplishing that end, or not the necessary action is taken to carry it out, there is no obligation to follow it. In this sense, it is optional and conditioned to our inclinations.