is it possible to know when your action is done purely from duty, according to kant?

Question

in kant's philosophical aspect, how do you act when you act purely from duty? and do you know when you are doing so? not sure, because according to kant, you act on doing something for the duty. you act because it's the right thing to do, not because of the consequence. you do rationalize a lot though. UGH. help.

Answer 1

he felt that there were general , abstract universal moral laws, which it was ones duty to abide by, these laws must be able to be applied in all situations, regardless of circumstances,

a perfect duty is when we must act in a certain way
an imperfect duty is when there are exceptions to the way we can act
he used the concept of maxims (principles) and 4 steps to prove if a maxim was true
for instance, you wish to borrow money you need from someone else, promising to repay it, yet you really have no intention to repay it
the maxim would be: it is permissible to borrow money under false pretensions when you really need it
can this fit into a universal law?
he felt it couldnt, the whole concept of lending money is based on honest promise to repay, if people no longer trusted others to repay, if they didn't accept promises, then false promises could not be effective, they would have no meaning
so the maxim, as applied universally, contradicts itself, and you have a perfect duty to not do that action
he said "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law."
so even some actions that do not contradict, you at the same time wouldnt will into it being a universal law
for instance, someone who lives comfortably but is considering not helping the less fortunate
the maxim would be :it is permissible never to help those less fortunate
while this could be applied universally, there is no contradiction, one wouldnt will this into law, as reason would tell you that at some point you may need help, no matter how well you are doing today
so we have a imperfect duty not to act so selfishly, perhaps we dont have enough money to help everyone,
hope this helps some,

Answer 2

I suppose if you find an action unpleasant but perform it because you consider it your duty to do.

Kant believed that the person who begrudges an action but performs it because of the catagorical imperitive is a more moral person than the one who performs the action happily.

Answer 3

Why do men knowing what men are, believe in men? Such an illogical pattern of life.