PHIL 1104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Supererogation, Diminishing Returns
Document Summary
If you give a lot, it can be supererogatory. It is very bad to starve to death from lack of food, shelter and medical care: the principal. If it is in our power to prevent something very bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything else of (comparable) moral significance, we are obligated to morally do it: the conclusion, to some degree, charity is obligatory. If you see a little kid drowning in a puddle or gutter, if you save the child, you"ll ruin your new shoes, but you"ll save the kid: probably obligated to save the kids despite ruining your shoes. If charity were a perfect duty, you would run out very quickly. Imperfect duties: you have some discresssion about whether you do them or not, it"s up to you. If you never do them, you"re not living up to your moral obligations: might not be obliged to do that, duty to improve yourself in some way.
