Duty

A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; Old French: deu, did, past participle of devoir; Latin: debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality, especially in an honor culture. Many duties are created by law, sometimes including a codified punishment or liability for non-performance. Performing one's duty may require some sacrifice of self-interest.

This article is about the ethical concept. For other uses, see Duty (disambiguation).

A sense-of-duty is also a virtue or personality trait that characterizes someone who is diligent about fulfilling individual duties or who confidently knows their calling.

Cicero, an early Roman philosopher who discusses duty in his work “On Duties", suggests that duties can come from four different sources:

  1. as a result of being a human
  2. as a result of one's particular place in life (one's family, one's country, one's job)
  3. as a result of one's character
  4. as a result of one's own moral expectations for oneself

The specific duties imposed by law or culture vary considerably, depending on jurisdiction, religion, and social normalities.

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