prima facie duties
Default moral requirements
Prima facie duties are moral obligations that appear binding at first glance but may be overridden by stronger duties in particular situations.
The concept, from ethics, acknowledges that duties like keeping promises, telling truth, and avoiding harm can conflict.
When they do, the stronger duty prevails, but the overridden duty doesn't simply vanish—you might still owe an apology or explanation.
My prima facie duty to keep my lunch date yielded to my duty to help the accident victim.
- moral philosophyStudy of right conduct
- obligationRequired task or commitment
- dutyRequired moral task
- ethicsStudy of right conduct
- RossScottish promontory name
moral · intuition · fidelity · beneficence · do no harm · justice · non-maleficence · gratitude · reparation · self-improvement · promise · binding · conflict · override · actual · conditional · deontology · right
- ethicsmorality, deontology, dignity, sanctity of life, utilitarianism
- IntuitionismHeyting algebra, constructivism, intuitive knowledge, self-evidence
prima, duties, prime, primal, primary, primacy, primitive, primer, primordial