It's not like the issue has never been noticed or addressed:

"Hypothetical imperatives apply to someone dependent on them having certain ends to the meaning:

if I wish to quench my thirst, I must drink something; if I wish to acquire knowledge, I must learn.

A categorical imperative, on the other hand, denotes an absolute, unconditional requirement that asserts its authority in all circumstances, both required and justified as an end in itself. It is best known in its first formulation:

Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law.[1] "--WP