ABSOLUTE DUTIES

A duty is a moral obligation that an agent has towards another person. Often duties have a corresponding right; but, certain duties do not have corresponding rights. These are duties that one must not do-no matter what. Thomas Aquinas argued that we have specific duties or obligations to avoid committing specific sins. Since sins such as theft are absolute, then our duty to avoid stealing is also absolute, irrespective of any good consequences that might arise from particular acts of theft. In the order of faith, Ten Commandments can be said to be absolute duties of a Christian.