Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) is one of the most important philosophers in history, and is best known for his Critique of Pure Reason, the ambitious project in which he attempted to define the limits of reason itself. His ethical theory was written mainly in the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, where he tried to derive moral principles from logic itself. The main engine of his ethical theory is the Categorical Imperative.
Duty for the Sake of Duty Itself
His "first proposition," the first important step in his theory, is that doing one's duty for the sake of duty itself is better than simply acting in agreement with one's duty. While lying, for example, is immoral, telling the truth in order to benefit yourself (for example, to gain a reputation as an honest shopkeeper, and thus increase your business) is acting in accordance with duty, but not acting for the sake of duty.
For Kant, consequences are irrelevant to morality. One should do one's duty for the sake of duty itself, even if it causes you or other people harm. Your intentions are the important thing: what principle did your action follow? Did you follow the principle because it benefited you, or because it was the right thing to do?
The Categorical Imperative
The Categorical Imperative is how one determines one's duty, how one determines what principles are proper and which are not. The Categorical Imperative states, "Act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will it should become universal law."
A maxim is the principle or belief governing the moral part of your action. If you're trying to figure out if you should make a promise you will not keep, in order to get yourself out of trouble, your maxim might be, "If you are in distress, you should make false promises." Following the Categorical Imperative, we should imagine a world where that maxim was universal law -- if you are able to imagine such a world (i.e. if that world is logically possible) and you would want to live there, then it is moral to act on that principle.
Thus, Kant recommends that we try to imagine a world where everyone in distress must make false promises in order to get out of their trouble. Such a world is logically impossible. A promise is something we give so that people will trust our word, and if it were universal law to give false promises, no one would trust anyone else's word. Thus, in such a world, it would be impossible to make promises -- impossible to convince people to trust us. Yet, in this world, it is also required, by this universal law, to give promises every time we're in distress. We're required to do the impossible -- a contradiction.
Since this maxim can not be made universal, it is our duty to do the opposite. We must always give promises only when we intend to keep our word.
Don't Make an Exception of Yourself
In Kant's theory, our duty is inflexible. Put simply, Kant's Categorical Imperative tells us it is immoral to make an exception of yourself. If you would want other people to act in a certain way, you must hold yourself to the same standards. No one is above the moral law, and making excuses for yourself (such as that you're in distress) does not get you out of your moral duty.
In summary, Kant believes that moral behavior requires that we do the right thing because it is right, and for no other reason, and that we hold ourselves up to the same standards we would require of everyone else.
References
Johnson, Robert. "Kant's Moral Philosophy." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008.
Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
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