Duty
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2008-07-04T00:39:33Z
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{{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]]
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[[de:Pflicht]]
[[fr:Devoir]]
[[it:Obbligo]]
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[[no:Plikt]]
[[ru:Долг (философия)]]
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