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Single Idea 3768

[filed under theme 23. Ethics / D. Deontological Ethics / 2. Duty ]

Full Idea

The customary morality, that which education and opinion have consecrated, is the only one which presents itself to the mind with the feeling of being in itself obligatory.

Gist of Idea

Orthodox morality is the only one which feels obligatory

Source

John Stuart Mill (Utilitarianism [1861], Ch.3)

Book Ref

Mill,John Stuart: 'Utilitarianism (including On Liberty etc)', ed/tr. Warnock,Mary [Fontana 1962], p.279


The 44 ideas with the same theme [nature of duty and its underpinnings]:

It is a great thing, when one is in adversity, to think of duty [Democritus (attr)]
For Stoics, obligations are determined by social role [Taylor,R on Stoic school]
Augustine said (unusually) that 'ought' does not imply 'can' [Augustine, by Matthews]
Moral philosophy aims to show us our duty [Hume]
Kant was happy with 'good will', even if it had no result [Kant, by Marx/Engels]
Kant has to attribute high moral worth to some deeply unattractive human lives [Kant, by Graham]
Kantian duty seems to imply conformism with authority [MacIntyre on Kant]
Dutiful actions are judged not by purpose, but by the maxim followed [Kant]
Telling the truth from duty is quite different from doing so to avoid inconvenience [Kant]
A categorical imperative sees an action as necessary purely for its own sake [Kant]
There are no imperatives for a holy will, as the will is in harmony with moral law [Kant]
Men are subject to laws which are both self-made and universal [Kant]
The law will protect you if you tell a truth which results in murder [Kant]
It can't be a duty to strive after the impossible [Kant]
There are only duties if there are rights, so truth is only for those with a right to it [Constant]
Unconditional truth-telling makes a society impossible [Constant]
Orthodox morality is the only one which feels obligatory [Mill]
People should follow what lies before them, and is within their power [Peirce]
Seeing duty as a burden makes it a bit cruel, and it can thus never become a habit [Nietzsche]
Guilt and obligation originated in the relationship of buying and selling, credit and debt [Nietzsche]
The idea of duty in one's calling haunts us, like a lost religion [Weber]
Seeing the goodness of an effect creates the duty to produce it, not the desire [Prichard]
We feel obligations to overcome our own failings, and these are not relations to other people [Prichard]
We should do our duty, but not from a sense of duty [Ross]
Be faithful, grateful, just, beneficent, non-malevolent, and improve yourself [Ross, by PG]
We like people who act from love, but admire more the people who act from duty [Ross]
The Greeks have no notion of obligation or duty [Berlin]
If we are made in God's image, pursuit of excellence is replaced by duty to obey God [Taylor,R]
The ethics of duty requires a religious framework [Taylor,R]
Obligation and duty look backwards (because of a promise or job), although the acts are in the future [Williams,B]
"Ought implies can" is a famous formula in connection with moral obligation [Williams,B]
Not all moral deliberations lead to obligations; some merely reveal what 'may' be done [Williams,B]
The concept of a 'duty to myself' is fraudulent [Williams,B]
'Ought' implies that there is a reason to do something [Searle]
The modern idea of duty is unknown in archaic Greece [Williams,B]
If cockroaches can't think about their actions, they have no duties [Nagel]
My duties depend on my identity, which depends on my social relations [MacIntyre]
Virtue theory tries to explain our duties in terms of our character [Annas]
That which can only be done by a callous person, ought not to be done [Scruton]
Membership is the greatest source of obligation [Scruton]
Kant's moral law has no foundation - because that would undermine its priority [Sandel]
Behaviour may be disgusting or inhumane, but violate no duty [Statman]
The ancients recognised imperfect duties, but we have added perfect duties like justice [Statman]
Are we only obligated by agreement, or should we always help the weak? [LaFollette]