--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Live your life as though your every act…" description: "\"Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law.\" — Immanuel Kant" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/immanuel-kant-532_integrity_live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act_1318239.jpg" --- # Live your life as though your every act were to become a… ![“Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law.” quote by Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/immanuel-kant-532_integrity_live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act_1318239.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/immanuel-kant-532_integrity_live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act_1318239.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/immanuel-kant-532_integrity_live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act_1318239.jpg) > “Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law.” [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Act as if your behavior should become a universal law, guiding ethical consistency. **In simple terms:** Act as if everyone should follow your example. Key Takeaway Live by universal principles. Themes ethics universality morality Mood serious thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - decision making - leadership - policy drafting Key Concepts Deontology categorical imperative Questions to Reflect On - What universal rule would you set? - How to balance personal freedom with universal duty? A Different Perspective Universal law may clash with cultural differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Universal laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal-laws/) ## Related quotes > [So act that anything you do may become universal law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/so-act-that-anything-you-do-may-become-universal-law/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Act so that the maxim of your act could be made the principle of a universal law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/act-so-that-the-maxim-of-your-act-could-be-made-the-principle-of-a/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [I ought never to act except in such a way that I could also will that my maxim should become a universal law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/i-ought-never-to-act-except-in-such-a-way-that-i-could-also-will-that/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/act-only-according-to-that-maxim-whereby-you-can-at-the-same-time-2/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [There is one universal law that has been formed, or at least adoptedby the majority of mankind. That law is justice. Justice forms the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-one-universal-law-that-has-been-formed-or-at-least-adoptedby/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Nature, when left to universal laws, tends to produce regularity out of chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/nature-when-left-to-universal-laws-tends-to-produce-regularity-out-of/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Therefore God's universal law Gave to the man despotic power Over his female in due awe, Not from that right to part an hour,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/therefore-god-s-universal-law-gave-to-the-man-despotic-power-over-his/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Man must know the principle of Creation: giving between each interchanging opposite half of each cycle for the purpose of repeating its giving. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/man-must-know-the-principle-of-creation-giving-between-each/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [Who else speaks for the Family of Man? They are in tune and step with constellations of universal law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/who-else-speaks-for-the-family-of-man-they-are-in-tune-and-step-with/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [Why can't parents dance? Is it some universal law of physics or something?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/why-can-t-parents-dance-is-it-some-universal-law-of-physics-or/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Now think about the Universal Law. It reflects to you exactly and precisely what you put out. If your thought-forms say, "I haven't got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-wilde/now-think-about-the-universal-law-it-reflects-to-you-exactly-and/) [Stuart Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-wilde/) > [You have to go forward: It's the only way. You have to go forward no matter what happens. This is the universal law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/you-have-to-go-forward-it-s-the-only-way-you-have-to-go-forward-no/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [You'll be happy to know that the universal law that created miracles hasn't been repealed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/you-ll-be-happy-to-know-that-the-universal-law-that-created-miracles/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [I hold, that in contemplation of universal law, and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-hold-that-in-contemplation-of-universal-law-and-of-the-constitution/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The Universal Law is impartial. It will give you anything you believe. It will throw you garbage or roses depending on the energy you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-wilde/the-universal-law-is-impartial-it-will-give-you-anything-you-believe/) [Stuart Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-wilde/) ## More by Immanuel Kant > [Even if a civil society were to be dissolved by the consent of all its members (e.g., if a people inhabiting an island decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/even-if-a-civil-society-were-to-be-dissolved-by-the-consent-of-all/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [How then is perfection to be sought? Wherein lies our hope? In education, and in nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/how-then-is-perfection-to-be-sought-wherein-lies-our-hope-in/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Heaven has given human beings three things to balance the odds of life: hope, sleep, and laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/heaven-has-given-human-beings-three-things-to-balance-the-odds-of/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Beauty presents an indeterminate concept of Understanding, the sublime an indeterminate concept of Reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/beauty-presents-an-indeterminate-concept-of-understanding-the-sublime/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Freedom is that faculty that enlarges the usefulness of all other faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-that-faculty-that-enlarges-the-usefulness-of-all-other/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Philosophical knowledge is the knowledge gained by reason from concepts ; mathematical knowledge is the knowledge gained by reason from the construction of concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/philosophical-knowledge-is-the-knowledge-gained-by-reason-from/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [A categorical imperative would be one which represented an action as objectively necessary in itself, without reference to any other purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/a-categorical-imperative-would-be-one-which-represented-an-action-as/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [When I could have used a wife, I could not support one; and when I could support one, I no longer needed any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/when-i-could-have-used-a-wife-i-could-not-support-one-and-when-i/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Enlightenment is the liberation of man from his self-caused state of minority... Supere aude! Dare to use your own understanding!is thus the motto of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/enlightenment-is-the-liberation-of-man-from-his-self-caused-state-of/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The ideal of the supreme being is nothing but a regulative principle of reason which directs us to look upon all connection in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-ideal-of-the-supreme-being-is-nothing-but-a-regulative-principle/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“Jeg skal alltid handle slik at den regelen jeg handler etter kunne gjelde som allmenn lov.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/jeg-skal-alltid-handle-slik-at-den-regelen-jeg-handler-etter-kunne/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [It is precisely in knowing its limits that philosophy consists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/it-is-precisely-in-knowing-its-limits-that-philosophy-consists/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [A society that is not willing to demand a life of somebody who has taken somebody else’s life is simply immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/a-society-that-is-not-willing-to-demand-a-life-of-somebody-who-has/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [. . . as to moral feeling, this supposed special sense, the appeal to it is indeed superficial when those who cannot think believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/as-to-moral-feeling-this-supposed-special-sense-the-appeal-to-it-is/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Explore all 476 Immanuel Kant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## More Integrity quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [The Kennedys have always represented a certain royal quality, Camelot, and they represent a great deal of integrity and strength and perseverance; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/the-kennedys-have-always-represented-a-certain-royal-quality-camelot/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [We want to promote the great quality of athletics - and maintain it's integrity - all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-juantorena/we-want-to-promote-the-great-quality-of-athletics-and-maintain-it-s/) [Alberto Juantorena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-juantorena/) > [A man should be upright, not kept upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/a-man-should-be-upright-not-kept-upright/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Too much principle is often more harmful than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/too-much-principle-is-often-more-harmful-than-too-little/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [The interesting thing is that everyone in golf is just nice. You learn a lot about people playing golf: their integrity, how they play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-interesting-thing-is-that-everyone-in-golf-is-just-nice-you-learn/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Don't worry so much about your self-esteem. Worry more about your character. Integrity is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/don-t-worry-so-much-about-your-self-esteem-worry-more-about-your/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [The family remains the basic unit of society and the first school in which children learn the human, spiritual and moral values which enable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/the-family-remains-the-basic-unit-of-society-and-the-first-school-in/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The reason I do small, independent movies is because I want to keep my soul intact and maintain some kind of integrity within this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/the-reason-i-do-small-independent-movies-is-because-i-want-to-keep-my/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) > [The 'key-log' which must be moved to release the evolutionary process for an ethic is simply this: quit thinking about decent land-use as solely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/land-ethic/the-key-log-which-must-be-moved-to-release-the-evolutionary-process/) Land ethic [Browse all 4,810 Integrity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Immanuel Kant" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act-were-to-become-a-universal-law/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Integrity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act-were-to-become-a-universal-law/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/immanuel-kant-532_integrity_live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act_1318239.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/immanuel-kant-532_integrity_live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act_1318239.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/immanuel-kant-532_integrity_live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act_1318239.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law.” — Immanuel Kant", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Immanuel Kant", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Live your life as though your...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act-were-to-become-a-universal-law/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/live-your-life-as-though-your-every-act-were-to-become-a-universal-law/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```