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Moral obligation and duty are the bedrock of social moralitybut they are not the whole. Before we examine other formswe shall, however, consider an objection to the way in whichwe have characterized moral obligation. The fourfold criteriawhich in the last section we used to distinguish it from otherforms of social standard or rule (importance, immunity fromdeliberate change, the voluntary character of moral offences,and the special form of moral pressure) are in a sense formal criteria. They make no direct reference to any necessary contentwhich rules or standards must have in order to be moral,nor even to any purpose which they must serve in social life.We have, indeed, insisted that in all moral codes there willbe found some form of prohibition of the use of violence,to persons or things, and requirements of truthfulness, fairdealing, and respect for promises. These things, granted onlycertain very obvious truisms about human nature and thecharacter of the physical world, can be seen in fact to beessential if human beings are to live continuously together inclose proximity; and it therefore would be extraordinary ifrules providing for them were not everywhere endowed withthe moral importance and status which we have described. Itseems clear that the sacrifice of personal interest which suchrules demand is the price which must be paid in a world suchas ours for living with others, and the protection they affordis the minimum which, for beings such as ourselves, makes
living with others worth while. These simple facts constitute,
as we argue in the next chapter, a core of indisputable truth
in the doctrines of Natural Law.
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