Role-Playing and Categorical Imperatives

Some common examples of role-playing connote pretense--either in the portrayal of a film or play character, or in the assumption of a character-type in interpersonal interaction. But, pretense is extrinsic to the notion of Role, which primarily means 'part', and many of the parts that can be played are as much from the real world as from a fictitious one. Real-world roles are usually based on social categories, e. g. 'good husband', 'good wife', 'good citizen', etc., with the frequently associated qualifier 'good' an indication that role-playing is central to Morality. In fact, one specialized synonym of 'role' is 'category', which helps explain why the notion 'categorical imperative' is central for Kant. Usually, and not incorrectly, 'categorical' is taken to mean 'unconditional' in the context of Kantian Morality. But, the underexamined reason why 'categorical' and 'unconditional' are synonymous is that subsumption under a category entails instantiation under a universal, which is, therefore the sole condition of that instance, supervening over all other conditions. The category that is the basis of Kantian Morality is 'rational being', and his Principle of Pure Practical Reason articulates what instantiating that category consists in--i. e. in acting as a rational being would--which supervenes over any other motivation, e. g. responding to an external stimulus. Likewise, a key unresolved flaw in Kant's System is that choosing to play the role of a rational being precedes any categorical demands that would apply only upon choosing to do so, so his Moral imperative is only conditionally unconditioned, as is the case with the requirements of any role-fulfillment. Still, what is instructive in Kantian role-playing is how categorical conduct supervenes on heteronomous purposeful behavior. For, it demonstrates how a mode of behavior, i. e. role-playing, is determined by Formal Causality, i. e. the role guides and shapes behavior, rather than by Efficient and/or Teleological Causality, i. e. behavior that is a response to external stimuli.