Meaning of word obligation

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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.

Other uses[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Written 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]

[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]

Primary and secondary obligations[edit]

English law distinguishes in some case law between primary and secondary obligations. A «secondary obligation» is a duty which arises in law as a consequence of another, primary, obligation.^[9] A person may themselves incur a obligation to perform a secondary obligation, for example, as a result of them breaching their primary obligation, or by another party breaching an obligation which the secondary obligor has guaranteed.

The England and Wales Court of Appeal noted in the case of AB v CD (2014) that

The primary obligation of the party to a contract [is] to perform his contractual obligations. The obligation to pay damages in the event of breach is a secondary obligation.^[10][11]

and in relation to the Statute of Frauds, Lord Justice Maurice Kay commented in 2009 that

A guarantee is, in the words of the Statute, a promise «to answer for the debt default or miscarriage of another person». There must be another person who is primarily liable. The liability of the guarantor is secondary.^[12]

The Appeal Court observed in 1973 that the determination of whether a document is a guarantee or an indemnity, or whether it imposes a secondary or a primary liability, will always depend upon «the true construction of the actual words in which the promise is expressed».^[13]

Under the Louisiana Civil Code, «stipulated damages» create a secondary obligation for the purpose of enforcing a principal obligation. An aggrieved party may demand either the stipulated damages or the performance of the principal obligation, but may not demand both except for delay.^[14]

See also[edit]

• Ability
• Convention
• Duty
• Law of obligations

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• «Political Obligation». Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Last Updated:
12 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

обязательство, обязанность, долг, обязательность, принудительная сила

существительное ↓

Словосочетания

accessory obligation — акцессорное обязательство  
to lay under obligation — обязать  
moral obligation — моральный долг  
social obligation — общественный долг  
obligation to one’s parents — долг перед родителями  
to feel an obligation — чувствовать себя обязанным  
to discharge / fulfil / meet an obligation — выполнять, исполнять долг  
military obligation — воинская повинность  
sacrosanct obligation — священная обязанность  
simple obligation — простое обязательство  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Формы слова

noun
ед. ч.(singular): obligation
мн. ч.(plural): obligations

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What do we mean by obligation?

A social, legal, or moral requirement, such as a duty, contract, or promise, that compels one to follow or avoid a particular course of action. noun

The constraining power of a promise, contract, law, or sense of duty. noun

A document in which a person binds himself or herself to undertake or refrain from doing a particular act. noun

A debt instrument, such as a loan, mortgage, or bond. noun

The state, fact, or feeling of being indebted to another for a special service or favor received. noun

The constraining power or authoritative character of a duty, a moral precept, a civil law, or a promise or contract voluntarily made; action upon the will by a sense of moral constraint. noun

That to which one is bound; that which one is bound or obliged to do, especially by moral or legal claims; a duty. noun

A claim; a ground of demanding. noun

The state or fact of being bound or morally constrained by gratitude to requite benefits; moral indebtedness. noun

In law: A bond containing a penalty, with a condition annexed, for payment of money, performance of covenants, or the like: sometimes styled a writing obligatory. By some modern English jurists the word is used as equivalent to legal duty generally. noun

In Roman law, the juridical relation between two or more persons in virtue of which one can compel the other to do or not to do a certain act which has a monetary value, or can at least be measured by a monetary standard. noun

In medieval schools, a rule of disputation by which the opponent was bound to admit any premise, not involving a contradiction, begging of the question, or other fallacy, which the respondent might propose. noun

Synonyms Engagement, contract, agreement. noun

The act of obligating. noun

That which obligates or constrains; the binding power of a promise, contract, oath, or vow, or of law; that which constitutes legal or moral duty. noun

Any act by which a person becomes bound to do something to or for another, or to forbear something; external duties imposed by law, promise, or contract, by the relations of society, or by courtesy, kindness, etc. noun

The state of being obligated or bound; the state of being indebted for an act of favor or kindness; — often used with under to indicate being in that state. noun

A bond with a condition annexed, and a penalty for nonfulfillment. In a larger sense, it is an acknowledgment of a duty to pay a certain sum or do a certain things. noun

See under Day. noun

The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone.

A social, legal, or moral requirement, duty, contract, or promise that compels someone to follow or avoid a particular course of action.

A course of action imposed by society, law, or conscience by which someone is bound or restricted.

A legal agreement stipulating a specified action or forbearance by a party to the agreement; the document containing such agreement.

Obligation.
An obligation is something you may not like or even enjoy doing but you do it out of respect or some profound sense of duty.
Don’t ever tell your girlfriend that you’re attending her 21st birthday party out of obligation. She’s not American born and English is her 2nd language; she doesn’t fully understand its definition. She has absolutely zero respect and will never have any sense of duty. She will fight with you for days over the true definition of the word, implying that somehow, duty has a «negative» connotation. As she verbally castrates you, you will be constantly reminded of how pussy-whipped you are and how she abuses your fear of being alone to her advantage. Your relationship with the man eating bitch, no matter how gorgeous she is, will strongly parallel repeatedly running head first into a brick wall and loving it. Even after you’ve accepted defeat, admitted your wrong doings, and apologized for them, she will continue to berate you over the fact that she is never wrong.
Four years of college… wasted out of fucking obligation.
Obligation. Urban Dictionary

Someone bound by ones values and word to oblige by providing service and favors
Word component and origin :
(a) Word components of obligent = oblige + -ent (suffix equivalent to -ant, appearing in nouns of Latin origin)
(b) Origin of oblige (verb) is from Latin obligare (ob + ligare) meaning «to bind, bind up, bandage.» In modern English means «to put under obligation.»
(c) The suffix -ant produces nouns from verbs. It has the general sense “characterized by or serving in the capacity of” that named by the stem, e.g. consultant = consult + ant = one serving to consult. Urban Dictionary

A short-hand version of obligatory. It can be used to show agreement or as a stand alone exclamation. Urban Dictionary

Make (someone) legally or morally bound to do something. Urban Dictionary

To agree to do something. To do something you feel obligated to do. To do something to pay a debt or putting someone in your debt. Urban Dictionary

After taking a filthy poop, wiping your butt and accidently getting some poop on the hand. Then, taking your hand and smelling it because you feel obligated to. You know it is going to smell like sh!t but you just are obligated. Urban Dictionary

Verb. When one is doing things out of obligation rather than wishes or desires. Urban Dictionary

To have to do something, regardless if you want to Urban Dictionary

An incorrect synonym for «obliged», which appears in some dictionaries, but none of the good ones. Urban Dictionary

Much obliged means that whatever was done is appreciated. Literally, it could be extended to mean that the person that says «Much obliged» now owes the other a favor. That the one that is obliged is under an obligation to pay back. Most people wouldn’t expect a return favor though. Urban Dictionary