1. The quotation "We have no right to happiness; we have only an obligation to do our duty" accurately reflects the philosophy of Kant. It is not that Kant is saying that we should disdain happiness, or not enjoy it if we happen to experience. Instead, Kant is saying that happiness can be dangerous and is meaningful and satisfying only if it is a by-product of a Good Will: " . . .The general well-being and contentment with one's condition which is called happiness inspire[s] pride . . . if there is not a good will to correct the influence of these on the mind. . . . A good will appears to constitute the indispensable condition of being worthy of happiness" (183).
Happiness, therefore, is not only not an individual's "right," it should not even matter to the individual operating with a good will and aiming at doing one's duty. Good will and duty are related in that such a will is necessary for the carrying out of one's duty. Duty refers to moral or ethical value in regard to an action. A single action may be done with selfishness or with duty in mind. To be done with duty in mind it must be the result of a good will, rather than as the result of a desire to be happy, to be praised, to gain some personal advantage.
The individual who takes an action as a result of duty is not concerned with the happiness that may or may not result from that action, but rather is concerned only with the "principle of the will"(189) which is the foundation of that action.
Finally, what determines this principle is the attitude of the individual toward the law. Only the individual who acts in accordance with rationality, the good will, the law of morality, and, finally, the categorical imperative, is an individual who is doing his or her duty. The categorical imperative is the standard which determines individual action which is truly moral, and this morality depends on that action being taken by all other human beings: "I am never to act oth...