The Categorical Imperative

About this curriculum

This novel, for middle and high schoolers, is part of an innovative philosophy curriculum that uses engaging stories to introduce students to important philosophical concepts. In this story, three middle schoolers enter virtual reality to track down Rousseau, Hume, and Kant in order to battle skepticism. Rousseau’s concept of autonomy shows that humans should obey only their own laws. But can autonomy provide a new foundation for both science and morality, as Kant insists? The youngsters explore what it means to obey your own laws, as well as the elusive certainty of reality. The Categorical Imperative  is the third book in the Noumenal Realm Trilogy, which focuses on the unconventional educational initiatives of an institution called the New Smithsonian Foundation, whose aim is to educate the children of America through virtual reality experiences instead of through the Smithsonian Institution’s dusty museum artifacts. In this novel, middle schoolers Roslyn, Brent, and Jonah track down Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant in order to battle skepticism and prevent the New Smithsonian Foundation from being shut down…