The Philosophical Review/Volume 1/Summary: Sharp - An Analysis of the Idea of Obligation

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The Philosophical Review Volume 1 (1892)
edited by Jacob Gould Schurman
Summary: Sharp - An Analysis of the Idea of Obligation by Anonymous
2658287The Philosophical Review Volume 1 — Summary: Sharp - An Analysis of the Idea of Obligation1892Anonymous
An Analysis of the Idea of Obligation. F. C. Sharp. Int. J. E., 11,4, PP. 500-513

Approbation or disapprobation is directed towards things as fit or unfit to accomplish desired ends. The altruist approves the labors of those who work to make life richer, and disapproves the opposite. Strong desire turns approbation into demand, while increased knowledge leads one to limit his demands by another's possibilities of compliance. This pressure of one will on another, demanding of it a certain course of action, is a strong social influence. If insufficient, it can be strengthened only by reward or punishment. These facts serve to explain moral obligation.

The ought involves an affirmation that a certain action is necessary as a means to a certain end and an emotion accompanying that affirmation. There are four distinguishable forms, — the 'I ought,' the 'you ought,' and the more impersonal forms culminating in the theological ought. The ought assumes the existence in another of the desire for an action, while the must makes no such assumption. When from the idea of obligation the element of the good or the ideal is eliminated, nothing remains but mere submission to an arbitrary imperative. Hence obligation cannot be the fundamental fact of moral experience.