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23. Ethics / D. Deontological Ethics / 2. Duty

[nature of duty and its underpinnings]

44 ideas
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]
There are no imperatives for a holy will, as the will is in harmony with moral law [Kant]
A categorical imperative sees an action as necessary purely for its own sake [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]
Not all moral deliberations lead to obligations; some merely reveal what 'may' be done [Williams,B]
"Ought implies can" is a famous formula in connection with moral obligation [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]