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Single Idea 21060
[filed under theme 23. Ethics / D. Deontological Ethics / 2. Duty
]
Full Idea
It would not be a duty to strive after a certain effect of our will if this effect were impossible in experience.
Gist of Idea
It can't be a duty to strive after the impossible
Source
Immanuel Kant (True in Theory, but not in Practice [1792], Intro)
Book Ref
Kant,Immanuel: 'Political Writings', ed/tr. Reiss,Hans [CUP 1996], p.62
A Reaction
'Ought implies can' has become a familiar slogan. The quickest way to get shot of a tiresome duty is to persuade yourself that it is impossible. The seemingly impossible is occasionally achieved.
The
44 ideas
with the same theme
[nature of duty and its underpinnings]:
498
|
It is a great thing, when one is in adversity, to think of duty
[Democritus (attr)]
|
5072
|
For Stoics, obligations are determined by social role
[Taylor,R on Stoic school]
|
22119
|
Augustine said (unusually) that 'ought' does not imply 'can'
[Augustine, by Matthews]
|
3918
|
Moral philosophy aims to show us our duty
[Hume]
|
5295
|
Kant was happy with 'good will', even if it had no result
[Kant, by Marx/Engels]
|
6695
|
Kant has to attribute high moral worth to some deeply unattractive human lives
[Kant, by Graham]
|
8028
|
Kantian duty seems to imply conformism with authority
[MacIntyre on Kant]
|
3714
|
Dutiful actions are judged not by purpose, but by the maxim followed
[Kant]
|
3718
|
Telling the truth from duty is quite different from doing so to avoid inconvenience
[Kant]
|
3724
|
A categorical imperative sees an action as necessary purely for its own sake
[Kant]
|
3723
|
There are no imperatives for a holy will, as the will is in harmony with moral law
[Kant]
|
3735
|
Men are subject to laws which are both self-made and universal
[Kant]
|
22441
|
The law will protect you if you tell a truth which results in murder
[Kant]
|
21060
|
It can't be a duty to strive after the impossible
[Kant]
|
22439
|
There are only duties if there are rights, so truth is only for those with a right to it
[Constant]
|
22440
|
Unconditional truth-telling makes a society impossible
[Constant]
|
3768
|
Orthodox morality is the only one which feels obligatory
[Mill]
|
19230
|
People should follow what lies before them, and is within their power
[Peirce]
|
20267
|
Seeing duty as a burden makes it a bit cruel, and it can thus never become a habit
[Nietzsche]
|
4415
|
Guilt and obligation originated in the relationship of buying and selling, credit and debt
[Nietzsche]
|
20725
|
The idea of duty in one's calling haunts us, like a lost religion
[Weber]
|
9255
|
Seeing the goodness of an effect creates the duty to produce it, not the desire
[Prichard]
|
9259
|
We feel obligations to overcome our own failings, and these are not relations to other people
[Prichard]
|
5900
|
We should do our duty, but not from a sense of duty
[Ross]
|
5909
|
Be faithful, grateful, just, beneficent, non-malevolent, and improve yourself
[Ross, by PG]
|
5942
|
We like people who act from love, but admire more the people who act from duty
[Ross]
|
7664
|
The Greeks have no notion of obligation or duty
[Berlin]
|
5066
|
If we are made in God's image, pursuit of excellence is replaced by duty to obey God
[Taylor,R]
|
5065
|
The ethics of duty requires a religious framework
[Taylor,R]
|
4110
|
Obligation and duty look backwards (because of a promise or job), although the acts are in the future
[Williams,B]
|
4248
|
Not all moral deliberations lead to obligations; some merely reveal what 'may' be done
[Williams,B]
|
4250
|
The concept of a 'duty to myself' is fraudulent
[Williams,B]
|
4249
|
"Ought implies can" is a famous formula in connection with moral obligation
[Williams,B]
|
3813
|
'Ought' implies that there is a reason to do something
[Searle]
|
2172
|
The modern idea of duty is unknown in archaic Greece
[Williams,B]
|
3258
|
If cockroaches can't think about their actions, they have no duties
[Nagel]
|
8023
|
My duties depend on my identity, which depends on my social relations
[MacIntyre]
|
3551
|
Virtue theory tries to explain our duties in terms of our character
[Annas]
|
4290
|
That which can only be done by a callous person, ought not to be done
[Scruton]
|
3886
|
Membership is the greatest source of obligation
[Scruton]
|
22262
|
Kant's moral law has no foundation - because that would undermine its priority
[Sandel]
|
7093
|
Behaviour may be disgusting or inhumane, but violate no duty
[Statman]
|
7104
|
The ancients recognised imperfect duties, but we have added perfect duties like justice
[Statman]
|
20886
|
Are we only obligated by agreement, or should we always help the weak?
[LaFollette]
|