moral imperatives
Obligations of conscience
Moral imperatives are actions or principles that ethics demands—things one ought to do regardless of personal desire or convenience.
The term carries philosophical weight from Kant's categorical imperative, but in everyday use it simply means ethical obligations that feel non-negotiable: Feeding the hungry is a moral imperative.
Unlike practical imperatives (do X to achieve Y), moral imperatives claim unconditional authority.
- conscienceInternal moral sense
- ethicsStudy of right conduct
- dutyRequired moral task
- do the right thingBehave with moral integrity
- principleFundamental truth or standard
obligation · sacred duty · integrity · virtue · righteousness · responsibility · human dignity · honor · decency · good conscience · justice · common good · social contract · mitzvot · human rights · deontology · indigenous wisdom · ubuntu
- moral absolutes
moral imperativesrecommendations
Proposed courses of action
whims · advice · guidelines · voluntary actions · inclinations
moral imperativesself-interest
Concern for personal advantage
realpolitik · base instincts · expedience · situational ethics · Machiavellian tactics
moral, morals, morally, morality, moralism, moralist, moralistic, immoral, immorally