Understanding Duty and Moral Imperatives

Extract

[...] In this context, doing one's duty can therefore mean taking into account the interest of the other and recognizing that it can sometimes take precedence over our own. B. Doing one's duty, it's to accomplish one's own humanity Audeeven with these examples, doing one's duty can also demonstrate the humanity that unites individuals. In this regard, one rarely helps a person in immediate distress out of concern for not being troubled by justice: on the contrary, it is a strong moral feeling that drives us to act instinctively, sometimes at the risk of our lives. [...]

[...] Moreover, doing one's duty is also to recognize that there are moral imperatives more important than our own interests A. Doing one's duty, it's to admit the existence of a society around oneself However, there are cases that escape this definition of duty as the realization of one's own interest. Thus, one can do one's duty out of concern for the society in which one lives: paying taxes is initially a constraint, but by accomplishing this act freely, one recognizes the legitimacy of a redistributive system that allows society to have public health services, education, transportation, etc. [...]

[...] In doing his duty, he spares his interest A. Doing one's duty is to escape punishment L'The political and social organization of our modern societies exposes anyone who does not do their duty to more or less severe sanctions. Thus, if I refuse to obey the common rules - to pay my taxes, to assist a person in danger, to respond to conscription . - I incur sanctions provided by law. Depending on the severity of the breach, the sanctions may be more or less severe and thus reflect the importance that society attaches to collective and individual duties. [...]