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Single Idea 4113
[filed under theme 23. Ethics / D. Deontological Ethics / 1. Deontology
]
Full Idea
There is no ancient Greek word for duty; the word 'deon' (the basis of 'deontology') means what one must do.
Gist of Idea
'Deon' in Greek means what one must do; there was no word meaning 'duty'
Source
Bernard Williams (Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy [1985], Ch. 1)
Book Ref
Williams,Bernard: 'Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy' [Fontana 1985], p.16
A Reaction
Presumably it covered compulsions which were not duties, such as the need to eat or drink. Greeks thought morally, but lacked a good moral vocabulary?
Related Idea
Idea 497
Be virtuous from duty, not from fear [Democritus (attr)]
The
24 ideas
with the same theme
[moral theories centring on the idea of duty]:
5252
|
'Enkrateia' (control) means abiding by one's own calculations
[Aristotle]
|
3549
|
Ariston says rules are useless for the virtuous and the non-virtuous
[Ariston, by Annas]
|
19407
|
We want good education and sociability, rather than lots of moral precepts
[Leibniz]
|
6257
|
You can't form moral rules without an end, which needs feelings and a moral sense
[Hutcheson]
|
7105
|
If 'maxims' are deeper underlying intentions, Kant can be read as a virtue theorist
[Kant, by Statman]
|
7625
|
We can ask how rational goodness is, but also why is rationality good
[Putnam on Kant]
|
4024
|
Kant follows Rousseau in defining freedom and morality in terms of each other
[Taylor,C on Kant]
|
3710
|
The only purely good thing is a good will
[Kant]
|
3715
|
Other causes can produce nice results, so morality must consist in the law, found only in rational beings
[Kant]
|
3737
|
The will is good if its universalised maxim is never in conflict with itself
[Kant]
|
20715
|
It is basic that moral actions must be done from duty
[Kant]
|
2915
|
Each person should devise his own virtues and categorical imperative
[Nietzsche]
|
7185
|
Replace the categorical imperative by the natural imperative
[Nietzsche]
|
8065
|
'Ought' and 'right' are survivals from earlier ethics, and should be jettisoned
[Anscombe]
|
8069
|
Between Aristotle and us, a Judaeo-Christian legal conception of ethics was developed
[Anscombe]
|
22391
|
Saying we 'ought to be moral' makes no sense, unless it relates to some other system
[Foot]
|
5077
|
The modern idea of obligation seems to have lost the idea of an obligation 'to' something
[Taylor,R]
|
4113
|
'Deon' in Greek means what one must do; there was no word meaning 'duty'
[Williams,B]
|
3261
|
Something may be 'rational' either because it is required or because it is acceptable
[Nagel]
|
20276
|
Conflict of rules might be avoided by greater complexity, or by a hierarchy of rules
[Singer]
|
3784
|
Duty prohibits some acts, whatever their consequences
[Glover]
|
3550
|
Principles cover life as a whole, where rules just cover actions
[Annas]
|
4327
|
Deontologists do consider consequences, because they reveal when a rule might apply
[Hursthouse]
|
4335
|
'Codifiable' morality give rules for decisions which don't require wisdom
[Hursthouse]
|