“Both love of mankind, and respect for their rights are duties; the former however is only a conditional, the latter an unconditional, purely imperative duty, which he must be perfectly certain not to have transgressed who would give himself up to the secret emotions arising from benevolence.” GivingCertainSecretEmotionRightsMankindDutyFormerLatterUnconditionalImperativesBenevolenceConditional Author:Immanuel Kant
“Republics demanded virtue. Monarchies could rely on coercion and "dazzling splendor" to suppress self-interest or factions; republics relied on the goodness of the people to put aside private interest for public good. The imperatives of virtue attached all sorts of desiderata to the republican citizen: simplicity, frugality, sobriety, simple manners, Christian benevolence, duty to the polity. Republics called on other virtues--spiritedness, courage--to protect the polity from external threats. Tyrants kept standing armies; republics relied on free yeomen, defending their own land.” PeopleSelfChristianInterestSimpleVirtueDemocracyLandDutyCitizensRepublicanProtectGoodnessStandingArmyThreatSimplicityMannersRelyRepublicTyrantsImperativesSelf InterestMonarchyCoercionBenevolenceSplendorSobrietyFactionsDazzlingFrugalityPublic GoodYeoman Author:James Monroe
“Violence becomes imperative when an attempt is made to assert rights without any reference to duties.” MadeRightsViolenceDutyImperatives Author:Mahatma Gandhi
“He's [Louis Brandais] so suspicious of bigness in government as well as business that he mistrusts even really top-down reforms at the state level. The most inspiring part of his legacy to me is his belief in the imperative and duty of self-education on behalf of citizens.” WellsSelfStatesGovernmentBeliefLevelsDutyCitizensReformLegacyBehalfImperativesSuspiciousSelf EducationMistrustTop DownMost Inspiring Author:Jeffrey Rosen
“I look forward to the time when the churches come to celebrate and honour the work of animal protection as an imperative arising from their belief in the Creator and in the gospel of the crucified. After all, similarly remarkable things have happened, for example, the growing consensus among churches that the environment should be cared for and protected as a Christian duty--an astonishing turnaround when one considers the prevailing dualism in previous centuries, which expressly discouraged concern for "earthly" matters as distinct from "spiritual" ones.” ShouldLooksMatterChristianSpiritualBeliefChurchAnimalEnvironmentGrowingHappenedCenturyExampleDutyConcernCreatorProtectionCelebrateRemarkableHonourProtectedConsensusDiscouragedImperativesAstonishingPrevailingDualismTurnaround Author:Andrew Linzey
“Kantian ethical theory distinguishes three levels: First, that of a fundamental principle (the categorical imperative, formulated in three main ways in Kant's Groundwork); second, a set of duties, not deduced from but derived from this principle, by way of its interpretation or specification, its application to the general conditions of human life - which Kant does in the Doctrine of virtue, the second main part of the Metaphysics of Morals; and then finally an act of judgment, through which these duties are applied to particular cases.” WayFirstsHumansDoeThreeLevelsMoralPrinciplesCasesVirtueConditionsParticularDutyTheoryJudgmentFundamentalsDoctrineHuman LifeInterpretationEthicalApplicationMetaphysicsImperativesFundamental PrinciplesGroundworkSpecificationsCategorical Imperative Author:Allen W. Wood
“We must make it an imperative duty of our government to protect the gifts which Nature has bestowed on America and to insure the maintenance of a clean, healthy, wholesome environment for our people.” PeopleGovernmentAmericaEnvironmentDutyHealthyProtectCleanImperativesMaintenance Author:George Lincoln Rockwell