Duty

Duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; Old French: deu, did, past participle of devoir; Latin: debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment or obligation to someone or something. The moral commitment should result in action; it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, that person theoretically commits himself to its fulfillment without considering their own self-interest. This is not to suggest that living a life of duty entirely precludes a life of leisure; however, its fulfillment generally involves some sacrifice of immediate self-interest. Typically, "the demands of justice, honor, and reputation are deeply bound up" with duty.

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

Duty (film)

Duty is the eighth and final episode of the British TV series Hornblower, based on the book Hornblower and the Hotspur by C.S. Forester. It was released on January 6, 2003, nearly four years after the first four films, nine months after the next two films, and a day after episode 7: Loyalty

Cast

Plot

The film starts with the wedding of Commander Horatio Hornblower, captain of the HMS Hotspur, and Maria Mason. 1st Lieutenant Bush is Horatio's best man and despite not being invited, Matthews, Styles, and the rest of the crew of the HMS Hotspur make their captain a saber arch and man-haul the Hornblowers to the reception. However, Admiral Pellew arrives and gives Horatio his next mission: the HMS Grasshopper, commanded by old friend Captain Bracegirdle, has gone missing while on patrol off the coast of France. Horatio's mission is to find the HMS Grasshopper. He also gives Horatio permission to sleep onshore with his wife Maria for the night.

Duty of care

In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation which is imposed on an individual requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be established to proceed with an action in negligence. The claimant must be able to show a duty of care imposed by law which the defendant has breached. In turn, breaching a duty may subject an individual to liability. The duty of care may be imposed by operation of law between individuals with no current direct relationship (familial or contractual or otherwise), but eventually become related in some manner, as defined by common law (meaning case law).

Duty of care may be considered a formalisation of the social contract, the implicit responsibilities held by individuals towards others within society. It is not a requirement that a duty of care be defined by law, though it will often develop through the jurisprudence of common law.

Development of the general duty of care