Duty 183749 223424126 2008-07-04T00:39:33Z Ginosbot 7020891 robot Adding: [[it:Obbligo]], [[scn:Òbbricu (duviri)]] {{this|duty in ethics}} [[Image:Leighton-Duty-1883.jpg|right|thumb|"Duty" by [[Edmund Blair Leighton]]]] '''Duty''' (from "due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, did, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. "[[debt]]") is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment to someone or something. The moral commitment is the sort that results in action, and it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, that person commits himself/herself to the cause involved without considering the self-interested courses of actions that may have been relevant previously. This is not to suggest that living a life of duty precludes one from the best sort of life, but duty does involve some sacrifice of immediate self-interest. [[Cicero]] is an early philosopher who acknowledged this possibility. He discusses duty in his work “On Duty." He suggests that duties can come from four different sources: # It is a result of being human # It is a result of one's particular place in life (your family, your country, your job) # It is a result of one's personality # One's own moral expectations for yourself can generate duties But it seems that one can be compelled to live up to a duty. That is not always the case. In the case of mandatory child support, a parent is being put in such a position. From the root idea of [[obligation]] to serve or give something in return, involved in the conception of duty, have sprung various derivative uses of the word; thus it is used of the services performed by a [[minister (religion)|minister]] of a [[church]], by a [[soldier]], or by any [[employment|employee]] or servant. Many schools of thought have debated the idea of duty. While many assert mankind's duty on their own terms, some philosophers have absolutely rejected a sense of duty. ==References== * {{1911}} == See also == {{wikiquote}} * [[Obligation]] * [[Negligence]] * [[Contract]] * [[Duty of care]] [[Category:Core issues in ethics]] [[Category:Tort law]] [[Category:Contract law]] [[Category:Ethical principles]] [[cs:Povinnost]] [[cy:Dyletswydd]] [[da:Pligt]] [[de:Pflicht]] [[fr:Devoir]] [[it:Obbligo]] [[ja:義務]] [[no:Plikt]] [[ru:Долг (философия)]] [[scn:Òbbricu (duviri)]] [[sv:Plikt]]