Explaining and Evaluating Ross Theory of Prima Facie Duties

Explaining and Evaluating Ross Theory of Prima Facie Duties

Prima facie, a Latin name is mainly used in academic philosophy and law to mean apparently correct or at first glance. The idea of prima facie duties first originated with David Ross, who was a Scottish philosopher. Ross was among the great proponents of intuitionism or ethical pluralism theory. According to the theory, good is indefinable and there exist moral truths which are self evident (Ross, 2002 Pg 4). The following essay is going to explain and evaluate Ross’s theory from different aspects and point of views.

According to Ross, there are various prima facie duties that people can use in determining the concrete thing to do. In this case, a prima facie duty refers to a duty that is obligatory or binding, holding other things equal, unless any other duty or duties triumph it (Ross, 2002 Pg 5). Whenever there is a prima facie duty to perform a given task, there is always a strong presumption that is in favor of performing it. An excellent example of such a duty is the obligation to keep secrets and promises. People ought to keep promises unless a stronger moral consideration arises.

Concrete or actual duties are the duties that people undertake given a particular situation. This contrasts with the prima facie duties. Depending on the nature of the actual duties, one ought to perform it in a moral way. Prima facie duties have a close relationship with actual duties, in the same way that reasons have a close relationship with the conclusions of reasoning.

According to Ross, prima facie duties recognize that people face a lot of daily choices where they have to act morally. In such cases, individuals weigh such moral choices using their intuitive judgment (Ross, 2002 Pg 10). Ross developed the theory because he was not satisfied with the utilitarian view that morality could be reduced on the basis of maximizing utility. He proposed six categories of prima facie duties that individuals can use in determining the right thing to do.

The first category is fidelity, this involves a duty to safeguard one’s contacts, secrets and promises and avoiding deception. In this case, if an individual keeps a promise, then he or she has a prima facie duty to honor the promise.

The second one is gratitude; this duty involves showing appreciation at all times. The duty advocates that individuals should be grateful for all good deeds toward them. The duty continues to add that such individuals should show appreciation by doing good deeds to others. For instance, if a person holds the door for an individual carrying a heavy load, then the individual should be grateful for that.

The third duty is non-injury; this is also referred to as non-maleficence. It indicates the duty to avoid causing harm to others. The harm can either be physical