Why Do We Have A Moral Obligation To Assist People In Need
Helping people is undoubtedly an honorable thing to do in some instances; however, by no means is it morally obligated all the time. Therefore, I negate the resolution “Resolved: Individuals have a moral obligation to assist people in need.”
Individual (The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2001): A single human being as distinct from a group, class, or family
Moral Obligation (Black’s Law Dictionary): a duty that is based only on one’s conscience and that is not legally enforceable
Assist (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary): to give usually supplementary support or aid to
People in Need (New Oxford American Dictionary): those in the state of lacking basic necessities such as food or money or requiring help or support …show more content…
I accept my opponent’s definitions.
The negative burden is only to prove that the moral obligation does not exist as a principle.
By no means does this impair individuals from engaging in this honorable behavior in certain instances when it is required, it simply means that this action is not morally obligated as a general universal principle.
My Value is that of the Preservation of Society. Political philosopher John Locke writes in Chapter Eleven of his Two Treatises of Government that quote "the first and fundamental natural law...is the preservation of society and of every person in it." Natural law is one of the fundamental principles of Locke's philosophy. It overrides all other values because natural laws come before all other values. The negative will show that a moral obligation to assist those in need does not exist as it impairs the preservation of society and that instead the it is society's duty to ensure this natural law is fulfilled.
My Criterion is John Locke's Social Contract. The Social Contract is a hypothetical agreement between individuals to form a society. They form into a society in order to preserve their property and ensure that the society as a whole has their natural rights enlarged and secured. The contract is formed to preserve society and therefore it becomes society's duty to preserve itself. The negative will demonstrate that the moral obligation that used to exist in the state of nature no longer exists as a universal principle when individuals from a …show more content…
society.
The sole negative Contention is that the moral obligation is instead a contractual obligation. There will be two subpoints under this contention.
Subpoint A: Governments are contractually obligated to assist those in need. Locke writes in Section 229 that quote "the end of government is the good of mankind" end quote. Alex Tuckness of Iowa State University writes that the quote "government is limited to fulfilling the purposes of natural law, but these include positive goals as well as negative rights" end quote. The purpose of government and society in general is to ensure that the natural law, or the preservation of society, is fulfilled. People give the government the authority to act as their will and preserve all of society.
Subpoint B: People are contractually obligated to assist those in need.
In Chapter 12, Of the Legislative, Executive, and Federative Power of the Common-wealth, John Locke writes that quote "The legislative power is that, which has a right to direct how the force of the common-wealth shall be employed for preserving the community and the members in it" end quote. What this shows is that should the individuals indeed act upon any sense of duty, it would instead be a duty to the society and not a moral obligation. In fact, this is further demonstrated when John Locke writes in Chapter 9, Section 129 that quote "the first power, viz. of doing whatsoever he thought for the preservation of himself, and the rest of mankind, he gives up to be regulated by laws made by the society" end quote. It is true that the state of nature has this moral obligation, but it was indeed transferred, not shared, to the society and society therefore enforces a contractual, not a moral, obligation to assist people in
need.
In conclusion, the only universal positive duty towards others is contractual, not moral.
I will now move on to refute my opponent's case.
Locke, John, and Peter Laslett. Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge [England: Cambridge UP, 1988. Print.
Individual (The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2001): A single human being as distinct from a group, class, or family
Moral Obligation (Black’s Law Dictionary): a duty that is based only on one’s conscience and that is not legally enforceable
Assist (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary): to give usually supplementary support or aid to
People in Need (New Oxford American Dictionary): those in the state of lacking basic necessities such as food or money or requiring help or support …show more content…
I accept my opponent’s definitions.
The negative burden is only to prove that the moral obligation does not exist as a principle.
By no means does this impair individuals from engaging in this honorable behavior in certain instances when it is required, it simply means that this action is not morally obligated as a general universal principle.
My Value is that of the Preservation of Society. Political philosopher John Locke writes in Chapter Eleven of his Two Treatises of Government that quote "the first and fundamental natural law...is the preservation of society and of every person in it." Natural law is one of the fundamental principles of Locke's philosophy. It overrides all other values because natural laws come before all other values. The negative will show that a moral obligation to assist those in need does not exist as it impairs the preservation of society and that instead the it is society's duty to ensure this natural law is fulfilled.
My Criterion is John Locke's Social Contract. The Social Contract is a hypothetical agreement between individuals to form a society. They form into a society in order to preserve their property and ensure that the society as a whole has their natural rights enlarged and secured. The contract is formed to preserve society and therefore it becomes society's duty to preserve itself. The negative will demonstrate that the moral obligation that used to exist in the state of nature no longer exists as a universal principle when individuals from a …show more content…
society.
The sole negative Contention is that the moral obligation is instead a contractual obligation. There will be two subpoints under this contention.
Subpoint A: Governments are contractually obligated to assist those in need. Locke writes in Section 229 that quote "the end of government is the good of mankind" end quote. Alex Tuckness of Iowa State University writes that the quote "government is limited to fulfilling the purposes of natural law, but these include positive goals as well as negative rights" end quote. The purpose of government and society in general is to ensure that the natural law, or the preservation of society, is fulfilled. People give the government the authority to act as their will and preserve all of society.
Subpoint B: People are contractually obligated to assist those in need.
In Chapter 12, Of the Legislative, Executive, and Federative Power of the Common-wealth, John Locke writes that quote "The legislative power is that, which has a right to direct how the force of the common-wealth shall be employed for preserving the community and the members in it" end quote. What this shows is that should the individuals indeed act upon any sense of duty, it would instead be a duty to the society and not a moral obligation. In fact, this is further demonstrated when John Locke writes in Chapter 9, Section 129 that quote "the first power, viz. of doing whatsoever he thought for the preservation of himself, and the rest of mankind, he gives up to be regulated by laws made by the society" end quote. It is true that the state of nature has this moral obligation, but it was indeed transferred, not shared, to the society and society therefore enforces a contractual, not a moral, obligation to assist people in
need.
In conclusion, the only universal positive duty towards others is contractual, not moral.
I will now move on to refute my opponent's case.
Locke, John, and Peter Laslett. Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge [England: Cambridge UP, 1988. Print.