Kant is a rationalist. He advocates that people think and judge with their own rational judgment, but tools can't, so Kant thinks that "people are not tools."

"Man is the purpose" is an important proposition in Kant's ethics, which constitutes the basis of the whole ethical system and is one of the most progressive and realistic achievements in his ethics. Man is the only rational animal, and rationality determines man and his moral value, so man is the most sacred. Reason takes itself as its purpose, and people who exist as rationality constitute their own purpose, but Kant does not completely deny that people are means. He realized the unity of the two with the self-discipline of will. Self-discipline of will, that is, freedom, is the essence of human beings. Morality is possible only when people have freedom. Kant put forward three basic moral commands, which are absolute commands. Among these three basic absolute commands, "man is the purpose" is the center.