The Motive of Duty

        The Motive of Duty

  The Motive of Duty says that a human action is morally good, not because it is done out  of inclination or self-interest, but because it is done for the sake of duty. Earlier in class we discussed an example where an old lady was crossing the street alone and a man decided to help her, because he believed it was his duty to help an elder person, who can verily walk, cross the street. Then, in another city, an elder lady was also crossing the street, but this time the man helping her did it for money, because he knew that in the past the lady had given money to the person that had walked her. Therefore, he helped the lady and obtained $100 cash. Last, in a bigger city another lady was crossing the street, but the person that helped her did it because he loved old people. This man loved caring for the elders in his free time. Therefore, his reward for helping the lady was the fact that she was an old person and he was able to help.

 

In the situation explained above, of the three people that helped the different old ladies cross the street, I believe that the first one is the perfect demonstration of  what motive of duty looks like. The first person that helped the lady did it for the sake of doing something right. He saw no ambition or other reward in helping a person. In addition, I feel that if people would follow the motive of duty and help others for the sample reason of doing the right thing, the world would be very different and we would not have ambitious people pretending to be good just to obtain something of value out of others. Therefore is important to always have real empathy for others and offer the same treatment that we want to receive.