Duty toward Whom?

Abstract

The eminent German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, postulated the existence of two contrasting forms of commitment to an action or to a relationship. One form is the commitment of desire, or of affection or devotion, which he considered changeable or evanescent, and therefore untrustworthy. The second is the commitment of duty, or obligation, which Kant saw as more stable and far better morally (Kant, 1785/1964).