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Latitude, Supererogation, and Imperfect Duties

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

In this, I seek a better understanding of both supererogation and imperfect duties in the hopes of coming up with an account of what it is to go above and beyond the call of an imperfect duty. I argue that we can go above and beyond the call of duty, not only by performing actions but also by forming attitudes. And I argue that what’s constitutive of fulfilling an imperfect duty is forming certain attitudes. I conclude, therefore, that we can go above and beyond the call of an imperfect duty by forming attitudes that are morally better than those that we must at a minimum form simply to count as having the end that it requires us to have. Along the way, I show that imperfect duties provide us with neither too much nor too little latitude in choosing which ends to pursue as well as when, and to what extent, to pursue them.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationHandbook of Supererogation
PublisherSpringer Nature
Pages63-86
Number of pages24
ISBN (Electronic)9789819936335
ISBN (Print)9789819936328
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Beneficence ·Discretionary ends
  • Duty to rescue
  • Imperfect duties
  • Indeterminate ends
  • Kant
  • Latitude
  • Maximalism
  • Moral options
  • Moral vagueness
  • Obligatory ends
  • Perfect duties
  • Supererogation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Arts and Humanities
  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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