Universalizability

Judgments or principles of which it can be said that everyone should judge or act in the same way, are universalizable judgments or principles.   In other words, they are independent of any particular point of view.

‘Do not kill’ or ‘Do not break promises’ or ‘Do not cheat’ might be examples of universalizable principles – they are judgments which everyone, it could be argued, should follow.

Universal judgments or principals are, in a way then, also impartial.  They are impartial because the person who makes them will be required to judge him or herself according to the same standard by which he or she judges others.

The moral philosophy of German philosopher Immanuel Kant is most often associated with universalizability.  It is a requirement of Kant’s theory that the principles that one follows be universalizable.