The Good Will & Duty

Kant has a Teleological view of nature in which he believes that we must produce a will that is good in itself.  He stresses the importance of The Goodwill.  The goodwill is the only thing that is good unconditionally and the goodness of the goodwill is not derived from the results it produces.  When we do something, whether or not we actually achieve what we intended to do is beyond our control most of the time, so the morality of our actions do not depend on the outcome.  What we do have full control of is the will of our actions.  No matter how good someone's actions are in itself, if there are any motives behind the action in hopes for a reward, such as wealth, pleasure, honor, etc. then it is not morally good. Because it is done from inclination or self interest and not done for the sake of duty; Duty is something that you ought to do. The motive of duty is an action done that is morally good, not because it is done from inclination or self interest, but because it is done for the sake of duty.

For example, if someone were to make clothing and money donations to charities, it looks morally good, but what you cannot see was the motive behind that person's actions.  They only made the charitable donation because they were looking to save money through tax deductions.  They were only motivated by money, not to actually make a good and charitable donation.  They gladly gave to charity, and fulfilling their duty to give to charity coincides coincidentally (or not so coincidental) with the result of it, which was finding loopholes in taxes and ultimately saving money. The fact that the action that they did appears to be moral and dutiful, it is not because of the ulterior motive.  All in all, your actions can be right, but your will can not, which makes actions with motives immoral.