An obligation is a course of action that someone is required to take, whether legal or moral. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations. Obligation exists when there is a choice to do what is morally good and what is morally unacceptable.[1] There are also obligations in other normative contexts, such as obligations of etiquette, social obligations, religious, and possibly in terms of politics, where obligations are requirements which must be fulfilled. These are generally legal obligations, which can incur a penalty for non-fulfilment, although certain people are obliged to carry out certain actions for other reasons as well, whether as a tradition or for social reasons.
Obligations vary from person to person: for example, a person holding a political office will generally have far more obligations than an average adult citizen, who themselves will have more obligations than a child.[2] Obligations are generally granted in return for an increase in an individual's rights or power.
The term obligate can also be used in a biological context, in reference to species which must occupy a certain niche or behave in a certain way in order to survive. In biology, the opposite of obligate is facultative, meaning that a species is able to behave in a certain way and may do so under certain circumstances, but that it can also survive without having to behave this way. For example, species of salamanders in the family Proteidae are obligate paedomorphs, whereas species belonging to the Ambystomatidae are facultative paedomorphs.
In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as canon 1247 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.
Obligation and morality
An obligation is contract between an individual and the thing or person to which or whom they are obligated. If the contract is breached the individual can be subject to blame. When entering into an obligation people generally do not think about the guilt that they would experience if the obligation is not fulfilled; instead they think about how they can fulfil the obligation. Rationalists argue people respond in this way because they have a reason to fulfill the obligation.[3] According to the sanction theory, an obligation corresponds to the social pressures one feels, and is not simply derived from a singular relationship with another person or project. In the rationalist argument, this same pressure adds to the reasons people have, thereby strengthening their desire to fulfill the obligation. The sanction theory states there needs to be a sanction in order for a duty to be a moral duty.[3]
Sociological view of obligation versus philosophical view of obligation
Sociologists believe that obligations lead people to act in ways that society deems acceptable. Every society has their own way of governing, they expect their citizens to behave in a particular manner. Not only do the citizens have to oblige to the societal norms, they want to, in order to assimilate to society.[4] Some philosophers on the other hand, argue that rational beings have moral duties, they make a choice to either fulfill these moral duties or disregard them. They have a moral responsibility to fulfill their obligations. Duty is seen as the response to an individual's obligations. Obligations require an action being done and duty is the carrying out of this action.[5] Sociologists believe that an obligation is an objective force. Some philosophers however, believe obligations are moral imperatives.[4]
Types of obligations
Written obligations
Written obligations are contracts. They legally bind two people into an agreement. Each person becomes responsible for doing their part of the contract. A legal contract consists of an offer, an acceptance of that offer, an intention to bind to one another in a legal agreement and a consideration, something of value to be exchanged.[6]
Political obligation
A political obligation is a requirement for the citizens of a society to follow the laws of that society.[7] There are philosophical issues, however, about whether a citizen should follow a law simply because it is a law. There are various views about whether a political obligation is a moral obligation. John Rawls argues that people do have political obligations because of the principle of fairness. Humanity benefits from the joint effort of the government, so, in fairness, they should be active and supportive members of this effort.[7] There are people, however, such as Robert Nozick, who argue enjoyment of a community effort does not mean obligation to that effort.[7]
Social obligation
Social obligations refer to the things humans as individuals accept because it is collectively accepted.[8] When people agree to a promise or an agreement, they are collectively consenting to its terms. Humanity is obligated to fulfil that promise or agreement.[8]
^Ross, Ralph (1970). Obligation. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN0472087657.
^Old Bear, Sacred Journey of the Medicine Wheel (2008), p. 393: "Adults have more obligations and are held to higher standards of accountability than children are".
^ abOwens, David (2012-09-20). Obligation. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199691500.001.0001. ISBN9780191744938.
^ abOgien, Albert (2016-12-01). "Obligation and Impersonality: Wittgenstein and the Nature of the Social". Philosophy of the Social Sciences. 46 (6): 604–623. doi:10.1177/0048393116649970. ISSN 0048-3931. S2CID 147711448.
^Korsgaard, Christine (July 1989). "Kant's Analysis of Obligation: The Argument of Foundations". The Monist. 72: 311–340. doi:10.5840/monist198972317.
^"Contracts and agreements | Small Business". www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
^ abcSong, Edward (2012). "Acceptance, Fairness, and Political Obligation". Legal Theory. 18 (2): 209–229. doi:10.1017/S1352325212000067. S2CID 145252321.
^ abMiller, Kaarlo (2006-06-01). "Social obligation as reason for action". Cognitive Systems Research. Cognition, Joint Action and Collective Intentionality. 7 (2): 273–285. doi:10.1016/j.cogsys.2005.11.005. ISSN 1389-0417. S2CID 3449678.
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An obligation is a course of action that someone is required to take whether legal or moral Obligations are constraints they limit freedom People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations Obligation exists when there is a choice to do what is morally good and what is morally unacceptable 1 There are also obligations in other normative contexts such as obligations of etiquette social obligations religious and possibly in terms of politics where obligations are requirements which must be fulfilled These are generally legal obligations which can incur a penalty for non fulfilment although certain people are obliged to carry out certain actions for other reasons as well whether as a tradition or for social reasons Obligations vary from person to person for example a person holding a political office will generally have far more obligations than an average adult citizen who themselves will have more obligations than a child 2 Obligations are generally granted in return for an increase in an individual s rights or power Contents 1 Other uses 2 Obligation and morality 3 Sociological view of obligation versus philosophical view of obligation 4 Types of obligations 4 1 Written obligations 4 2 Political obligation 4 3 Social obligation 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksOther uses EditThe term obligate can also be used in a biological context in reference to species which must occupy a certain niche or behave in a certain way in order to survive In biology the opposite of obligate is facultative meaning that a species is able to behave in a certain way and may do so under certain circumstances but that it can also survive without having to behave this way For example species of salamanders in the family Proteidae are obligate paedomorphs whereas species belonging to the Ambystomatidae are facultative paedomorphs In the Catholic Church Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation less commonly called Feasts of Precept are the days on which as canon 1247 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass Obligation and morality EditAn obligation is contract between an individual and the thing or person to which or whom they are obligated If the contract is breached the individual can be subject to blame When entering into an obligation people generally do not think about the guilt that they would experience if the obligation is not fulfilled instead they think about how they can fulfil the obligation Rationalists argue people respond in this way because they have a reason to fulfill the obligation 3 According to the sanction theory an obligation corresponds to the social pressures one feels and is not simply derived from a singular relationship with another person or project In the rationalist argument this same pressure adds to the reasons people have thereby strengthening their desire to fulfill the obligation The sanction theory states there needs to be a sanction in order for a duty to be a moral duty 3 Sociological view of obligation versus philosophical view of obligation EditSociologists believe that obligations lead people to act in ways that society deems acceptable Every society has their own way of governing they expect their citizens to behave in a particular manner Not only do the citizens have to oblige to the societal norms they want to in order to assimilate to society 4 Some philosophers on the other hand argue that rational beings have moral duties they make a choice to either fulfill these moral duties or disregard them They have a moral responsibility to fulfill their obligations Duty is seen as the response to an individual s obligations Obligations require an action being done and duty is the carrying out of this action 5 Sociologists believe that an obligation is an objective force Some philosophers however believe obligations are moral imperatives 4 Types of obligations EditWritten obligations Edit Written obligations are contracts They legally bind two people into an agreement Each person becomes responsible for doing their part of the contract A legal contract consists of an offer an acceptance of that offer an intention to bind to one another in a legal agreement and a consideration something of value to be exchanged 6 Political obligation Edit A political obligation is a requirement for the citizens of a society to follow the laws of that society 7 There are philosophical issues however about whether a citizen should follow a law simply because it is a law There are various views about whether a political obligation is a moral obligation John Rawls argues that people do have political obligations because of the principle of fairness Humanity benefits from the joint effort of the government so in fairness they should be active and supportive members of this effort 7 There are people however such as Robert Nozick who argue enjoyment of a community effort does not mean obligation to that effort 7 Social obligation Edit Social obligations refer to the things humans as individuals accept because it is collectively accepted 8 When people agree to a promise or an agreement they are collectively consenting to its terms Humanity is obligated to fulfil that promise or agreement 8 See also EditAbility Convention Duty Law of obligationsReferences Edit Ross Ralph 1970 Obligation Ann Arbor The University of Michigan Press ISBN 0472087657 Old Bear Sacred Journey of the Medicine Wheel 2008 p 393 Adults have more obligations and are held to higher standards of accountability than children are a b Owens David 2012 09 20 Obligation Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 acprof oso 9780199691500 001 0001 ISBN 9780191744938 a b Ogien Albert 2016 12 01 Obligation and Impersonality Wittgenstein and the Nature of the Social Philosophy of the Social Sciences 46 6 604 623 doi 10 1177 0048393116649970 ISSN 0048 3931 S2CID 147711448 Korsgaard Christine July 1989 Kant s Analysis of Obligation The Argument of Foundations The Monist 72 311 340 doi 10 5840 monist198972317 Contracts and agreements Small Business www smallbusiness wa gov au Retrieved 2019 11 27 a b c Song Edward 2012 Acceptance Fairness and Political Obligation Legal Theory 18 2 209 229 doi 10 1017 S1352325212000067 S2CID 145252321 a b Miller Kaarlo 2006 06 01 Social obligation as reason for action Cognitive Systems Research Cognition Joint Action and Collective Intentionality 7 2 273 285 doi 10 1016 j cogsys 2005 11 005 ISSN 1389 0417 S2CID 3449678 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Obligation Political Obligation Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy This legal term article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This article about ethics is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Obligation amp oldid 1130538220, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
